what could be wrong

[DragonOwner]

Hi on monday the 17th i changed her enclosure around from being diagangle to straight. I don't know if this had any effect on what she is doing now tho. Her appetite was good mon-21 insects,tues-11 insects,wed-13 insects. Then on thursday the 20th i changed her substrate to fake grass this is when her behaviour changed and her eatting. The reason i changed is she kept licking at the sand, She was hungry but wouldn't touch the insects or veggies just sat there licking the sand. Ever since the 20th she has eaten thurs-4 crickets,fri- 9 insects,sat-3 crickets,sun-10 crickets,mon-2 crickets. when i say insects means mixture of crickets and roaches. She has been very flighty darting off at any sign of movement, She is shedding at the moment too, But other times she has shed she was a bit flighty but nothing like this,her appetite was good too the other times she has shed. She has lost interest in eating roaches which isn't like her, Her poos i think are normal exept she seems to be leaving little white piles of urates in the enclosure which she never did before. The vets here in mildura know nothing about reptiles. The closest reptile vet is in melbourne 6 hours away and i have no way of getting there. So what could be wrong with Safira?
Her tempertures are 41degrees celsius on the hotside
29 degrees celsius on the cool side.

 

[Brettix]

I have found that a bath or a spray to rehydrate themself can pick up their behavier and appitie.
They can also take a week to settle into new surroundings.

 

[Lollypop]

They can also take a week to settle into new surroundings.

ditto
Even though safira's got all the same stuff in her cage, changing the substrate is like putting her in a whole new cage. She's got enuf beef on her to allow her to settle in over the week without it being detrimental to her, so don't panic! If she hasn't settled within say a week & a half, let us know

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello

Hello,

She is just trying to adjust to her new surroundings with you changing out the sand for her. That was a good move if she was licking it so she doesn't get impacted on it.
What type & brand of UVB are you using currently, a flourescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
Are you using calcium supplementation?


Tracie

 

[DragonOwner]

Hi i'm using the outback max 10 uvb tube, yes i do give clacium every second day. On people advice they told me to put the sand back in to see how she acts. I did that and she seems to be getting better not so jumpy i can actually close and open her enclosure without her jumping so much. I've never had a problem with Safira pooing even when she was licking the sand. Just looks like i've got a dragon that won't exept anything other then sand.

 

[Lollypop]

If she's licking the sand a lot, & you're concerned, it's a good compromise to go 1/2 and 1/2 - sand on the cooler side with her hide so she can dig, grass or tile hot side to feed on.
I have a 6mth old, fatter than Safira, who was also eating the sand - a real little pig, eat your finger if you left it there long enuf lol. I've just cut down his light hrs to 8.30am - 5pm as have read a bit on the long light hrs affecting their metabolism. This seems to be settling him to acting 'normally' without sacrificing his funny personality. Might be worth giving it a go?
I did consider whether they're calcium deficient with eating the sand, don't know if anyone has any ideas on this?