Weird Behavior? Sick?

[ZipperDipper]

I didn't know whether to post this here or under 'behavior',
if an admin could please read my initial post and decide for themselves where it lies, then I'd really appreciate it.

Before I go on, her setup is a 75 gallon tank with a cool side running to mid 70s-80s and the hot side running from 90-95 with a 150 watt basking bulb. she also has the reptisun 10 for UVB, although I believe it is due for a replacement around this month.

Months ago (around September) I posted a thread in behavior in regards to my older bearded dragon acting strangely. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=211296 Here is the thread.

To recap, she would not stop bobbing her head persistently when I got my second bearded dragon, Sawyer. I moved her tank down to the living room and she /still/ won't stop. We thought she was doing this because she saw her reflection, now, but if we take her out and put her outside of the tank, or outside in the grass, she will still bob her head threateningly, and grow increasingly agitated. She has a hide that she hides in most of the day, and then the only time she comes out to run around her tank is to bob at things.

Along side this weird behavior is the fact that she is /not/ gaining weight. I am incredibly worried. I own another beardie (who has the same set up) and a blue tongue skink, and both have been gaining weight and growing very well. But when I weight my older girl, she just.. won't gain weight. She is about 200 grams underweight for a beardie her size. I feed them every two days, mixed of collared or mustard and various veggies and fruits, and every other interval of the two days, I give them superworms as a staple. I've started giving Zipper more superworms day by day in hopes that it would help increase fat/provide more protein, but it hasn't seemed to help.. She eats it all, though - in fact she eats voraciously, so I am so very confused and worried for her.

Another thing about her is that she hasn't had a good shed in awhile - I didn't know if it is because of her age?
If any of y'all have had similar experiences with any of your beardies, please I would love to hear them. Elsewise I'll be making a vet appointment, although I would like to avoid that as best as possible since I've heard at times they can do more wrong than good.

Thank you for reading. ):

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....how old is Zipper, and what is her weight ? If you were feeding her every other day for a while that would be why she hasn't gained weight along with the fact that she seems very nervous. SNow that you're feeding her every day now she may just take a while to catch up. As for her behavior, some beardies do not adjust well as others....they are like the one kid in class that avoids others + is fearful for whatever reason. That can explain the constant hiding as well as head bobbing. But I do want ask if you are positive that she's a female ? If you want to post pics of her vent here for me to double check I'd be happy to. Even though males + females can both bob excessively it's more common with males. For a female to do so it shows that she is very nervous.

Be sure to keep her in a low traffic area away from the other animals. You might also bump her basking temp. to about 100. Hopefully she'll begin gaining weight now that you're feeding her more and an increase in basking temp. may help as well.

 

[ZipperDipper]

Hi there.
Zipper is roughly 8-9 years old. She currently weighs 362 grams as of July 4th and is about 22 inches in length.
The thing is, I used to feed her every other day in the past and she has visibly been able to gain weight then. Only after my other beardie came into the picture did she begin to deteriorate in weight gain and act out - even after they were separated into different rooms. I am also not sure what she'd be adjusting to... she is in a room that does not have any reptiles. I have also had her now for about 7-8 years. All of the behavior just came very suddenly as she used to act better before Sawyer came along.

I am actually NOT positive that she's a female. When I first got her I was told she was a he. But then I learned how to check their vents and it does not look like she has a hemipenis...
but based on her behavior I've been lead to question her sex now a days. But even so, she's not around any of the other reptiles, so the bobbing is just.. unfounded. even when she is in a room alone she does it. Idk. it's.. just so weird. Here are some pics of her vent and her in general:

anyhow, lemme know your thoughts. i will have the temperatures bumped up as well. thank you for the input and assistance!

 

[AHBD]

Oh so you've had her for a long time ! She is a huge girl, except does need to put on some weight....but it's not an unhealthy thinness. Could you possibly get a few more pics of the vent, arch the tail a bit more and a couple from just a very slight angle and even twist the tail ever so slightly ? Sorry to have to do that again. :?

 

[aedenjack]

From what I can see, she looks like a he. It's really hard to tell in the pictures if there's one or two bulges above the vent. However, I can see their larger femoral pores, where as a female's would be smaller and less noticable. They also appear to have a bigger head, which can be used to determine gender. A female's is generally smaller. I hope this helps

 

[ZipperDipper]

Here are some more pictures for possible clarification.

I personally cannot see any hemipenis bulges unless I am looking in the wrong places? I feel like I am missing something.

Nonetheless, even if she was a male, I have had them separated for almost a year now. He/She is downstairs in the living room while the other beardie is upstairs and he does not stop bobbing. Even when he is outside or isolated he does it.

Let me know, thanks for your help guys!

 

[Esther19]

She looks like a girl to me.