Suddenly afraid and not cuddly

[artemisia]

Hi all,

I've had my female beardie for six months now. I think she's about 6-7ish months old.

She's always been extremely cuddly and friendly. She loves to just sit on me, play in my hair (yes, *in* my hair), and so on. She has never ever been cold, much less aggressive. I hand-feed her greens, and it's not uncommon for me to hand-feed worms and such.

But today, all of a sudden, I take her out of her house and she bolts. She won't let me hold her at all. She keeps squirming and running away. She was also puffing her beard at nothing (not black, though).

What is this? Could she be sick? It's like day and night in terms of behavior!

 

[Cerko]

Are you positive it's a female? We just had the same situation with our guy, overnight change in behavior from relaxed to aggressive. Turns out she was a he and is going through puberty...

Might be worth re-checking gender

 

[artemisia]

Update: she looked like she was suffering, so I ran to an emergency vet. They suspected constipation. Although the X-ray did not show a "gross" blockage, they hydrated her and gave her meds.

She seems much better now! No more squirming, and she cuddled with me all the way home. I think she was in serious discomfort.

And yes, it seems I have a girl, officially <3

I'm just glad it wasn't a respiratory issue, or something very serious!