Strange Behavior-- Possibly about to lay eggs?

[Quelaag]

Well, its been a while since I've been up here and of course when I finally come back it's due to some concerns I have with Haru. Recently she's been acting strange. It's like she's gotten a sudden burst of energy. For the past 5 days she's been glass surfing and ansty when usually she's pretty calm and will wait until I take her out in the afternoon or after work. When I do take her out she's been exploring more often than usual, which I guess is pretty good but it's just not like her.

To add to this she hasn't been showing much interest in food which is worrying way more than the change of behavior. I just want her to eat. My first thought was maybe she's trying to lay eggs, but I think she's still a bit young for that? She's almost a year old so I guess it's not impossible, but it doesn't seem likely to me especially since there aren't any other Beardies in our home. Another thing it I figured she would look bigger around the belly, but doesn't seem to-- or is that not always an indicator of egg laying?

I'd also say brumating, but I think a sudden burst of energy is kind of the opposite of brumating. Though after she goes through these weird moments she calms back down, climbs up on her tree near the heat, and then just kind of chills there for the rest of the day.

No new changes have been done to her enclosure, in fact she just finally started climbing on the fake tree I put in her enclosure 2 months ago. She does need a new UVB as it's just over the 6 month mark, but her current one should last her until the new one gets in through the mail-- hopefully today since I ordered the thing over 5 days ago. It's a Reptisun 10.0 by the way. Her temps are normal and range from the 102 to the 110 range-- it's been hard to maintain the past week or so since the outside temperatures are affecting it. I usually try to balance it in the middle temp range. Darn those cooler temperatures.

Anyways, any ideas on what could be the issue? She's not acting sick, but I'm worried about her. ;n;

 

[Quelaag]

Update: She's recently started head bobbing which she has never done before ever. She's not acting aggressive otherwise, but I'm wondering if she can see herself from a mirror in my room and thinks it's another Beardie? It's just odd because the mirror has ALWAYS been there and she never was bothered by it before. I covered it as best I could to see if that calms her down any, but it's a huge mirror that is permanently mounted to the wall. If covering it proves to help I guess I'll have to rearrange my room to where she can't see the mirror. I also thought head bobbing was more of a male behavior. I even double checked and she's definitely female-- or at least from what I can tell. She has the one bump in the middle rather than the two on the sides that males have. Granted it's often hard to get a good look since she's been very fussy lately.

I just want to figure out what's wrong with her. :c I can tell she's stressed over something and in turn it's stressing me out.

On the bright side her new UVB came in. I forgot how super bright they are when you first get them.

 

[CooperDragon]

It sounds to me like her hormones are going crazy and making her act this way. I've seen it before with Cooper when he was around that age. It seems to be a phase and doesn't last too long. As far as I know, you just have to kind of wait it out as long as everything else is in good shape. The new UVB light will be nice to have too (but I don't think it's affecting her behavior).

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm having the same issues with temp the last few days. I lowered the basking light to get 100 or so at Dundee's log and then turned on the CHE over the cool side (it's higher up than the basking light, they're both on adjustable stands) to get about 80 on the cool side during the day. CHE on at night keeps it in the 70s.

 

[Quelaag]

Hopefully it's just temporary and exactly what you said. Out of paranoia though I put a temporary dig box in her enclosure. She doesn't seem very interested in it though.. I'm not sure if I even did it right, I put a tub of sand in her enclosure underneath her basking light. Not sure if it is even supposed to go directly under the light or not.

She's showing a lot of the signs of egg laying-- restlessness, glass surfing, lack of appetite, digging and scratching everywhere, pacing, and she's exploring more. However she isn't displaying one of the most vital signs and that's the plumpness that the females get when they're about to lay. So maybe it is just random hormones, but at the same time I don't want to take chances since they can die if they don't lay eggs. What should I do? I'm thinking of calling or checking into the vet to see what they think, but with the weather getting so cold I don't want to stress her out more by taking her out in the cold unless I have to. :c

 

[CooperDragon]

A vet visit wouldn't hurt if you have a good vet nearby. Just give her a box with a towel or blanket and a heat pack or two under it and that should keep her warm on a car ride. I've never had to deal with egg laying so I'm not exactly sure what to do. From what I've read, some people make a dig box outside of the tank and provide "outside time" in the dig box. They use a combination of wet play sand and soil so it's easy to dig and build a tunnel structure.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there.....she may have eggs and may not, but they don't always develop a fat belly when the eggs are infertile. I doubt she needs a vet visit , many vets, even exotics have very little experience with gravid beardies and can't determine if they are carrying eggs. The only time it becomes urgent to see a vet is if a dragon becomes eggbound, gets sickly + very lethargic and may need a shot of Oxytocin to induce the egg laying process. As for the laybox, it shouldn't be directly under the basking area, and you need to make sure the sand is damp enough for her to dig a tunnel. [ as Cooper mentioned ] The laybox should also be at least partially dark, with a lid or even a piece of cardboard to darken it. Then again, some beardies just end up laying their eggs somewhere else in the tank. Give her a warm 15 minute bath once a day, too. Some dragons will actually pop out an egg or two in the water.