Eating Excavator clay

[EbrietasDragon]

My Beardie is 10 months old and I wanted to enrich her life by giving her a dig box. I used the zoo med excavator clay. As soon as I put her in she ate a chunk of it so I took her out. Is she going to be okay? Now I'm worried
Also what I thought was strange was when I put her in, her beard stayed bright orange and white but she puffed up her whole body and seemed way too excited to eat the clay. Lol what the heck?

 

[Sadie]

My Beardie is 10 months old and I wanted to enrich her life by giving her a dig box. I used the zoo med excavator clay. As soon as I put her in she ate a chunk of it so I took her out. Is she going to be okay? Now I'm worried
Also what I thought was strange was when I put her in, her beard stayed bright orange and white but she puffed up her whole body and seemed way too excited to eat the clay. Lol what the heck?

That is not good and I dont know if that stuff is digestible ---- dont put it back in - are you feeding any supplements like calcium D3 and vitamins w/ beta carotene?

 

[Skybug]

Can u post a picture of how you mixed it? She should be fine, give her alot of water so it can be diluted.

 

[Skybug]

That is not good and I dont know if that stuff is digestible ---- dont put it back in - are you feeding any supplements like calcium D3 and vitamins w/ beta carotene?

Its just clay with sand and tiny rocks , enough water ruins its bond.

 

[Sadie]

Its just clay with sand and tiny rocks , enough water ruins its bond.

Tiny rocks can cause impaction--- any supplements?

 

[EbrietasDragon]

I threw it all out so I don't have photos. I mixed it according to the directions, she ate a ball of the clay that I missed while packing it down. The "rocks" within the clay were basically the size of sand. I'll give her some extra water when she wakes up tomorrow. And yeah she gets calcium and calcium plus d3 occasionally.
She licked it a couple times then started digging and then just ate a ball of clay and was REALLY happy with herself lol

 

[Sadie]

I threw it all out so I don't have photos. I mixed it according to the directions, she ate a ball of the clay that I missed while packing it down. The "rocks" within the clay were basically the size of sand. I'll give her some extra water when she wakes up tomorrow. And yeah she gets calcium and calcium plus d3 occasionally.
She licked it a couple times then started digging and then just ate a ball of clay and was REALLY happy with herself lol

She's 10 months she should be getting calcium D 3 5 x per week dusted on the insects ONCE per feeding - vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week once per feeding- at a year or so insect feeding should go to 2-3 times per week and depending on the uvb your using the calcium intake is going to determine how often

 

[EbrietasDragon]

My vet told me calcium daily and calcium plus d3 one or two times a week. I use a t5 uvb. I'm just more concerned about this little ball of clay she ate and what I can do and how worried I should be. I have read that in the wild they will eat clay when they are missing minerals in their diet. So I will buy the one you suggested, as I'm assuming she ate the clay for that reason.

 

[Sadie]

My vet told me calcium daily and calcium plus d3 one or two times a week. I use a t5 uvb. I'm just more concerned about this little ball of clay she ate and what I can do and how worried I should be. I have read that in the wild they will eat clay when they are missing minerals in their diet. So I will buy the one you suggested, as I'm assuming she ate the clay for that reason.

I would say so and good on the calcium-- keep her hydrated- and watch her poops- hopefully that little bit isn't going to cause issues--

 

[Skybug]

I threw it all out so I don't have photos. I mixed it according to the directions, she ate a ball of the clay that I missed while packing it down. The "rocks" within the clay were basically the size of sand. I'll give her some extra water when she wakes up tomorrow. And yeah she gets calcium and calcium plus d3 occasionally.
She licked it a couple times then started digging and then just ate a ball of clay and was REALLY happy with herself lol

If its really crumbly, you need to remix it, it should dry hard like a rock, i got two bags of clay and one bag of “stone desert” brand

 

[EbrietasDragon]

If its really crumbly, you need to remix it, it should dry hard like a rock, i got two bags of clay and one bag of “stone desert” brand

I think I'll just scrap the clay idea but WOW I LOVE your setup it's beautiful

 

[Skybug]

I think I'll just scrap the clay idea but WOW I LOVE your setup it's beautiful

Your beardy will miss it , and thank you , ive done lots of research on what substrates would they encounter in their natural habitat and wanted to imitate it as best as I could.