Many people love to have bearded dragons as pets in their houses. They have a name that elicits an image of a dragon emitting fire from its mouth.
If your bearded dragon is digging into her water bowl, it is quite likely that she is feeling hot. However, there can be a lot of reasons for the same.
They often wave their heads slowly and indulge in head-bobbing frequently. These odd habits make it difficult to understand them. To know more about them, we have simplified it for you, keep reading!
Why Is My Bearded Dragon Digging?
In their natural habitat, the wild bearded dragons are natural diggers. They usually dig out tunnels and caves where they can hide and store food.
They often dig under the substrates to look out for meat, insects to eat, and other natural foods and meals. If a beardie is kept captive, even then she might like to dig in anything lying near her.
But, if your reptile friend has taken up digging recently as a new hobby and does it frequently, then this can be a negative sign and you should take action at once.
Why Is Your Bearded Dragon Digging in Her Water Bowl?
Although we have already mentioned above that the bearded dragon may be scratching the ground because she is feeling hot, there is more to it.
There are six major reasons why a bearded dragon is behaving in such a way:
1. She Is Getting Ready to Lay Eggs
I had a female bearded dragon that was 12 months old, and at that age a beardie gets ready to lay eggs. Even if your female bearded dragon has made no contact with a male bearded dragon, she can lay unfertilized eggs. Yes, bearded dragons can lay eggs without breeding.
Once she starts to lay the eggs, she will look for a safe and warm place for the eggs. You might want to double-check if your beardie is male or female. Mostly, these reptiles are gendered incorrectly. I was in the same situation for a few months. Hence, it becomes important to ensure that you have a male or a female bearded dragon.
After you have checked and if you have a female beardie that is ready to lay eggs, then you should put a lay box in the middle of her enclosure. If you do not do this then it is quite possible that the female beardie would not lay the egg and remain egg-bound as she is worried about the egg. This can make her ill.
Bearded dragons might need a medium-sized lay box wherein the female beardie can lay her eggs without having to dig the ground.
2. She Might Be Feeling Hot
Bearded dragons like to live in temperatures that are higher than the ones we live in. But, make sure that the temperature isn’t too high. If the enclosure or the cage of the beardie gets too hot then the bearded dragon is likely to dig around by instinct to get cooler.
This is a fact that holes that are dug deeper into the ground are much cooler than the surface. The nighttime temperature of a beardie’s cage should be 70°F. Keep in mind that panting is a common habit in bearded dragons. This offers a means to self-regulate the temperature.
If a beardie is sitting at a sunny spot and panting, then this should be considered a natural thing. But, if you notice them digging the ground, this would mean that they wish to escape from that sunbathing area and shift to a cooler one.
3. She Is Hungry
If you find your bearded dragon digging into her water bottle, then it could mean that the reptile is looking out for food or more water.
This means that you might not be serving your reptile enough food that she needs to sustain hence she digs to find food. She could be even digging for insects.
If you had fed your bearded dragon with a certain insect in the past then the reptile may be looking for the same type of insect to eat. I once fed my beardie with a caterpillar and I often find her catching caterpillars to this day.
Some insects, which include fatty worms, are addictive for the bearded dragons. You should stop serving the reptile with this insect.
4. She Is Stressed
Yes, you read it right, even reptiles like bearded dragons can be stressed. One potential sign of stress is excessive digging.
If your bearded dragon starts to dig at an odd hour then try to look out for any kind of triggers. Maybe the lights are too bright or there is a noise in the beardie’s surroundings.
Maybe some animal is troubling your beardie which is causing her to cause havoc and which is why she is digging the ground.
You might look at your bearded dragon and think that she feels lonely and she might need company but this is not true.
A bearded dragon is well-off on her own. If another beardie shares her enclosure then she might be stressed due to it and you should consider separating them for their happiness.
5. She Is Preparing to Brumate
Brumation is a process similar to hibernation. Brumation is the process of a cold-blooded version of slowing down. Once your dragon has turned off 12 months, she might brumate.
She might not even want to eat or drink anything. She might spend most of her time sleeping. The beardies usually brumate in winters and dig a safe place for the same.
6. She Doesn’t Have Enough Space
If the bearded dragon has a small enclosure then it is quite possible that the reptile can get frustrated and agitated because of it. The beardies then might look for something to do and they might start digging around to look for more space and activity.
The ideal size of an enclosure or a tank for a bearded dragon is approximately 60 gallons. If you have a larger tank then it would be better.
If the beardie feels that she is given a limited area to move around then she will start scratching the tank and will try to dig underneath to increase her living area.
Conclusion
Bearded dragons can dig into their water bowl for various reasons. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you should give the beardie an optimal space to live freely and keep them in a cool area.