Spring fever? Crazy active dragon

[lissac67]

Spike is driving me nuts the last few days. She has a 40 gallon breeder tank, the right lights, etc. She broke her leg in Jan. but is getting back to normal. Well, more so than normal. The last few days she is a maniac in her cage, glass dancing, running through her food, digging behavior, shredding her paper towels in an hour, etc. I finally just put an old towel in there because I can't keep any paper towels in there with out her balling them up in the corner. She is climbing and literally going nuts like she wants to climb out. I take her out every day and she will run around for a while, but then goes back to her cage and stares at it. lol. We only have her, no other dragons. She is almost 2 years old, shy of 3 or 4 months. What in the heck is her issue? I am afraid she is going to hurt her leg again. She is moving it more but not totally normal. a 40 gallon tank seems really small when a 1.5 pound lizard is being a maniac. Could she be trying to lay eggs? If so, is there anything I have to do for her? Anything to look out for? She poops just fine. I took out all the towels today and she spend about 30 minutes digging in a corner on just the glass. then proceeded to try and climb out of the cage on her log (She can almost reach the top!).

 

[CooperDragon]

I don't have much experience with this, but based on what I've read it sounds like she may be trying to lay eggs. You could try putting together a dig box for her and give her extra baths and calcium and see what she does.

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Yes, that's egg behaviour.
Dig box ASAP - now, if possible.
Big plastic box, fresh compost, water. Put in warm area - inside tank, if possible.

 

[lissac67]

I ended up getting her some sand and a low box, put it in the cage for days and she did nothing with this. She also stopped going nuts and is back to her old lazy self. I did weigh her the other day since she wasn't eating much there while she was going nuts, but she is right about 780 gms. So I don't think she is any worse for the wear. Her belly is shedding, and one foot. I don't know She seems fine and is no longer going nuts...I took the box of sand out since she didn't seem to like it much.

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

She could be one of the lucky dragons that can reabsorb. Keep a close eye on her, and be prepared.

Was the sand wet? Dry sand is no good for digging.

You'll want to add compost for moisture balance and stability - it's more satisfying to dig for dragons. Some are awkward, and won't lay until a box is suitable - it can be a bit of a guessing game if you have a picky dragon!

 

[lissac67]

It was moist. I will keep an eye on her. I will keep the sand in the box and moisten it again if she seems to get that way again. She has acted that way before, glass dancing, etc. But it seemed to last just a day in the past, and maybe once every other month. She really does seem perfectly fine now. She is lazy, but moves around and is very alert. I did read somewhere I could use potting soil. Maybe I should get some of that to keep around....

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

At least you're aware of the signs for future reference - Mocha's like clockwork, heh.

Definitely potting soil, that's what I use (and what I was referring to, apologies if any confusion) and regular baths helps.

 

[lissac67]

Ok, great! She does get a bath every morning, where she does her business (she HATES doing it in her cage and gets VERY grumpy if there is a day I get busy or don't get her in the bath early enough). Next time she gets like that I will put some potting soil in the pan. How high should the sizes be? I thought it should be kind of deep, so it was maybe 4 or 5 inches high....maybe it wasn't wide enough and was too high. This was the first time I even think she could have been close. She really never was like that for days on end before.

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Well, my box is about ten inches high, fourteen long and about ten wide - it's a plastic "tidy up" box, half full of dig-mix.

I upgraded mine a bit: I used galvanised steel mesh to create a "tunnel" space, and protected the bottom edges with short, sturdy applewood branch cuts. If she's not been jumping on it too much, there's usually a sturdy "roof" of dig-mix above her to offer a bit of privacy, you see.

I shove about two thirds of the mix inside the tunnel, leaving the floor outside bare, pack the rest on the top - she digs like a lunatic inside the tunnel until she's got it just right.

I don't recommend disturbing your dragon whilst she's in laying mode - Mocha's an old hand, and I quietly stuck my camera over the top whilst she wasn't paying attention to grab this snap. She's about fourteen eggs along at this stage, and generally lays about 22 a time.