Scratching and hiding

[Reptilelady86]

Hello everyone,
She seems to want to bask from 7am to 12:30pm - 1pm then she wants to go hide. I hear her scratching at the substrate and looks like she wants to sleep? Is this normal?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Hello everyone,
She seems to want to bask from 7am to 12:30pm - 1pm then she wants to go hide. I hear her scratching at the substrate and looks like she wants to sleep? Is this normal?

Depends on her age..it is the time brumation. When was the last time you had a fecal test done?

 

[Reptilelady86]

The fecal test was done recently and the vet said no need to medicate or anything. Just wondering if its normal behavior that they do after being in the sun / under UVB lights to go hide? As long as the enclosure is warm she should be okay, right?

 

[BeardedHippy]

my female has been in her hide for a week and she has been scratching up her repticarpet under there, its gonna be a mess. Its natural for them to dig though

 

[Hdrydr31]

The fecal test was done recently and the vet said no need to medicate or anything. Just wondering if its normal behavior that they do after being in the sun / under UVB lights to go hide? As long as the enclosure is warm she should be okay, right?

If your temps are appropriate for her age then yes digging and being a bit more sleepy as winter sets in is normal.. As long as fecal is clear then let her do what she want's to do and keep an eye on her and keep a log of her weight. She shouldn't loose or gain drastically

 

[Reptilelady86]

Yeah, I have been keeping track of her weight. Her weight seems to increase although she has completely slowed down on her eating. I even showed her a hornworm and she just licks it now
Today, she has completely turned herself around in the cave trying to be in complete darkness, not eager to come out and bask. Partial brumation kicking in?

 

[Reptilelady86]

She also has her eyes closed while in the cave but her head is slightly raised and no black bearding. Occasionally, opens and then close eye patterns.

 

[Reptilelady86]

my female has been in her hide for a week and she has been scratching up her repticarpet under there, its gonna be a mess. Its natural for them to dig though

How old is your female beardie? When I first heard the scratching noise, I was like is she okay? lol but I guess that is how they borrow themselves in the ground

 

[BeardedHippy]

She is around 10 months old. Some people use excavator sand for them, its a clay sand that keeps its shape after being wetted and they tunnel into it. Of course the females dig to bury their eggs as well, so some people put a box or tray of sand in their enclosures when they become gravid.

 

[Reptilelady86]

Oh wow that sand looks pretty cool. I was watching a youtube video:

Is there any impaction risks with using that sand? And also, seems like its good for glass terrariums?

 

[PatsyB]

If you are going to put any sand in your enclosure you should use children's play sand. Excavator Clay, is good because it hardens and mimics their natural environment. You can also get it wet again and reconfigure it. If you are making a laybox though, you want to use something that is loose so they can dig.

 

[BeardedHippy]

Yeah, I called it excavator sand but its actually excavator clay. I have a small bag of it that I havent used, That small(very small) bag was around £14 so I figured I would need to spend a lot of money to have enough to do anything subtantial with, so I cant say i have everactually used it. Being mostly clay there is a minimal impaction risk though.

 

[Reptilelady86]

Since she is in wooden enclosure, I might just get like a cat litter box and then put the stuff in there or something like that. I don't want to really add it to the substrate. Now that I know she is a female, as I thought it was a male but reptile vet confirmed that she is a female. It is really hard to tell when they are babies. That is good though that it is clay so there is minimal impaction risk. I think she is reaching closer to 8/9 months so maybe she is reaching towards maturity. I just want to give her the best so she can thrive in her home. Happy beardie

 

[PatsyB]

Putting it in a litter box would be perfect.

The vet I saw with Dexter in September told me something interesting. He said not to provide a box to dig unless you know for sure they are gravid. He said that providing the box and the whole digging experience, can actually stimulate them to become gravid. I thought that was an interesting thought. I asked him about lay boxes because Dexter's calcium was slightly elevated and I asked if I should give a box and he said no.

 

[Reptilelady86]

Oh wow, that is very interesting thought. Here is a quick video of what she was doing a bit ago:

I am not sure if she's trying to brumate or shes going through maturity or a mix of both.
Here is how she is now via photo.

 

[Reptilelady86]

Or maybe she wants to file her nails down like a classy lady

 

[Reptilelady86]

Ok, so I looked on google how to determine the sex of a beardie. Quite interesting because with mine, hard to tell. I took some photos, maybe can help me figure it out.

 

[BeardedHippy]

really hard to tell, but I am leaning towards male. The two lumps(hemipenes) are just barely visible in the pics

 

[Hdrydr31]

Ok, so I looked on google how to determine the sex of a beardie. Quite interesting because with mine, hard to tell. I took some photos, maybe can help me figure it out.

You got a boy there..

 

[Hdrydr31]

Oh wow, that is very interesting thought. Here is a quick video of what she was doing a bit ago:

I am not sure if she's trying to brumate or shes going through maturity or a mix of both.
Here is how she is now via photo.

Just trying to get comfy to sleep...they do that alot.. as in the wild they dig a cave to sleep