Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

Yesterday I let my collared's wreak havoc on my little apartment, they were exploring the world my side of the glass.....

However Yoshi climbed onto a plant pot and was licking as she does, next thing I know my other half tells me she has swallowed a piece of the gravel from the pot. It's like color dyed fish gravel, it's not smooth pebble type either, its rough and will be very unpleasant for her if it got in her digestive system, I'm sure. I have no idea if the dye used has any kind of toxins in, and no way of finding out.

However ..... I cleared up the gravel she's knocked on the carpet, and put them back in the viv, but I did find one piece of the same gravel where she'd been sitting a little later (nowhere near the plant pot). I wonder is it likely she brought it back up? I couldn't take her to the vet, the reptile vet was closed. She was chewing on grass hoppers later in the day with no issues, and has eaten again this morning. I am quite concerned but also baffled by the fact that she doesnt seem bothered at all, should I be concerned or do they make a habit of eating random bits of gravel?

And one other thing..... She lost her gravid colours about 10 days ago, but I can still see 5 clear egg shaped lumps in her sides. She is eating less than she was a week ago and nothing else has changed except she seems to sleep a little longer. I'm wondering is she likely to lay em if they can still be seen or does it take a long time to re-absorb them? Yoda digs constantly but she never does. Is this normal?

I take that back.... From 6 this morning she has apparently not stopped digging, however the pet shop told me the best thing to keep them on was alfalfa pellets, but I changed that yesterday to sand, now they are both digging for their lives. Good / Not good? Anyone experienced similar?

if i remember correctly (it has been a slow gravid season this year) they orange will start to fade even though they haven't laid the eggs. it does not go away, it just is not a bright.

as for the gravel, just keep an eye on her bathroom habits and if she starts showing signs of straining to poop or anything like that i would take her to the vet immediately. but maybe someone else has better advice on if she should go to the vet right away or not (but when in doubt always take them to the vet)

when i put my lizards on new substrate they always kick it around. the girl will need a laying spot where there is damp sand for her to form an underground tunnel.
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vonnie
***The first law of dietetics seems to be: if it tastes good, it's bad for you. — Issac Asimov ***

Let em dig they enjoy it, LOL most of us use the washed playsand. The pellets can grow mold and get fungus. Glad ya switched.

As far as the gravel, I would keep an eye on her and make sure she passes it. If shes an adult "most likely" she will but be careful of larger stones and gravels becasue they can cause the impactions. Hopefully everythign will come OUT in the END, LOL
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

Yay I've been sat here at work pressing refresh all day waiting for a reply THANKS guys !!

I would have taken her straight to the vet but she 1) he was closed, 2) she seemed perfectly healthy, was eating ok 3) I found a piece on my lounge floor nowhere near the plant it came from. Think she might have thrown it back up? If there's the slightest doubt when I get home she'll be in the car like a shot.

She shed her skin last week and there is not a hint of the orange she had before, not even a little smidgen. It wasn't even orange come to think of it, it was kind of pale peachy.

Silly question but if its a slow season for you guys, is it likely to be the same in the UK considering she was WC on your side of the pond?

That alfalfa stuff was disgusting, even the horses turned their noses up. Only thing was they were already on that in the shop and she was the "professional" so I then had to wait a few weeks so as not to upset the lizards again, poor little blighters.

I actually asked her why not sand (obviously the natural option for the lizard, and according to just about every site I looked on before I bought), and she literally just turned her nose up and pulled a face. Got the impression she just didn't like it, full stop end of story.

She never mentioned compaction or lack of heat absorption or coarse sand being better than fine etc. Oh, and she sold me two males as a pair remember? I actually drove for almost an hour to get them from this shop because they have a great reputation. I might be wrong, she's the expert after all, but I think I'll stick to the forum in future, get my info straight from the horses mouth.