Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beardie is two years old, the last week she has gone crazy? She runs around the cage climbing all over everything. Her temps are all fine and she eats good(piggie). She use to just be the laziess thing, didn't even chase the crickets, would wait till they came back around to her. She is by herself in the cage, which is 48"x24"x24". Does anyone have an idea why she is doing this, She is my oldest and never saw this behavior before. Thanks

Is she just running around or is she digging at the ground as well? IF digging alot, she may be trying to find a place to lay eggs. Females can and do produce infertile eggs, even if they never saw much less been with a male.

If no signs of digging but she is just running around...then find out what has changed in her line of sight. A new furry pet, something in the room that is spooking her..or something in the room she wants (maybe she just wants out?) can cause a dragon to run about frantically. I have had my dragon go nuts in her cage, and I realized what she was frantic about, was a superworm beetle was crawling on the floor in sight..and she wanted to eat it.
-----
PHLdyPayne

I'll keep a watch on her, I don't see things moving and the room is the same. What about if she thinks it's breeding time will this cause this kind of reaction, this is what my son thinks!But we have never bred her.

It's not breeding behavior but it may be egg laying behavior. As LdyPayne said dragons will develop and lay eggs with or without a male. Prior to laying the eggs the dragon will be looking for a suitable place to dig a nest and lay the eggs. If she has stopped eating this is very likely the case.

Is she continuing to eat normally?

How old is she?

Does she look fat? especially from mid body down.

What kind of substrate is she on? Is she digging in it if it is digable?

How big is the enclosure?

If she cannot find a place suitable to her to lay the eggs it could be life threatening. Please answer the above questions and someone can give you a suggestion for a lay box.

She is eating normally,and is 20 to 22 months old. Her cage is 48"x24"x20" and she's been in it for a couple of months. She is on about 1 to 2 inches of playsand (shifted on a screen), and is feed in a rubbermaid container.I don't think she looks any fatter than usual, but I"ve enclosed two pictures of her.

oops here's the other picture,she was a bit dark today.

Is she digging in the sand at various places?

It's really hard to tell if a female is carrying infertile eggs as you can't feel them and they don't show through the skin the way fertile eggs do. But she's certainly heavy enough looking to be gravid so I'm still inclined to think in that direction. It just seems so late for a dragon to be having a first clutch.

Did she brumate at all since you've had her. You said she was lethargic before can you give a better description? and for how long?

she's not doing any digging at all, she brumated just a little over the winter(2 wks)but it wasn't a full brumation where she just slept. She would get up and move around. She has always been a lazy girl, never really moving a lot in her cage. She is otherwise healthy

I don't think she is gravid, it is very hard to tell in the picture, as she is standing up. Most adult dragons will look pudgy around the lower part of their body when standing like that. The gut just piles up. It would be easier to tell if she was lying flat.

As she isn't digging nor has she stopped eating, she may just be hyper for some reason. It certainly won't hurt to make a egg laying box just in case.
-----
PHLdyPayne

I agree with LdyPayne and think it's very unlikely she is gravid if she is not digging and eating normally. Also they usually become gravid about a month after they wake from brumation and then lay a first clutch about a month after that. So unless she brumated till late May this is unlikely.

I'm not sure I'd worry about it too much but I would keep an eye on her behavior. Every dragon is different and I have one that eats through egg laying which is unusual. Even in her case her eating slows down but it never really stops.

Thanks everyone for the advice,I'll keep an eye on her and I'll make an egg laying box as soon as I read up on how to make one.

WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE IS CARRYING EGGS, AND SHE DOES NOT FIND A SUITABLE SPOT FOR HER TO LAY HER EGGS, WHAT DO THEY DO THEN? I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THIS.

Best case senario they just drop them wherever. Worst case senario they suffer Dystocia of egg binding which without surgery is fatal.

Oh, also it's way more likely with infertile eggs since they are squishy and not reasonably solid to push against.