# Bearded dragons nails



## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

My 19 month old bearded dragon has suddenly lost some of her nails on both her front feet. 

Does anyone know why this could have happened and if they will grow back soon?

She has just layed eggs and i though it may have been from digging but it is not every nail it seems to be 3 nails on one foot and 2 on the other. 

Thanks x


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## Dlanefox (Feb 5, 2011)

Is there anywhere she could have got then caught? Eg bulb guard if she can reach it or even in the glass runners or unsealed edges where viv sides join together?


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

The only places i can think of is the vent as she seems to climb on that somtimes and the sliding glass, but i always ensure she is not near the glass before opening it.


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## lycanlord20 (Jul 11, 2008)

I had an old female that ground a few right down through digging after laying a cluch. I just upped her calcium intake and she was fine.
Has yours lost the root or just ground them right down.


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

She has ground them right down to her scales but i can still see where the nail come from so they are not completely lost. Did your beardie grom them back once the calcium was upped?


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

I think beardie nails are a bit like dogs nails. If a dog rips a nail it generally regrows, as long as its not too deep into the root of the nail.

(oh gods that reminds me, jack russel needs to go get his nails clipped again, I get to pay extra for the muzzle and two handlers to do it lol. little buggger that he is)


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## lexiT (Jul 30, 2010)

Kayles 12 said:


> My 19 month old bearded dragon has suddenly lost some of her nails on both her front feet.
> 
> Does anyone know why this could have happened and if they will grow back soon?
> 
> ...


Hi  sounds like excessive digging...especially if the substrate is calci sand for example. If the nails have been completely pulled out then chances are they won't grow back, however if they have just broken off then they can grow back but take a while....months.

Was she mated?


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

they dont seem to have gone too deep into the nail as i can still see the roots, so i am happy to hear they are likely to grow back in time. 

She was first digging in just calci sand and then when she was closer to laying i added a large amount of soil to avoid her digging on the bottom of the viv. 

Yer she has been mated and layed a lovely 20 eggs!!


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## lexiT (Jul 30, 2010)

Kayles 12 said:


> they dont seem to have gone too deep into the nail as i can still see the roots, so i am happy to hear they are likely to grow back in time.
> 
> She was first digging in just calci sand and then when she was closer to laying i added a large amount of soil to avoid her digging on the bottom of the viv.
> 
> Yer she has been mated and layed a lovely 20 eggs!!


 
Hope she's doing well! Are you going to use a container with vermiculite for her next batch? If she is in a big enough viv you could place two in there when she starts to show the 'digging signs' again.


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

Thank very much. Yep i have a large container ready for next time and some vermiculite ready for her too, i will place this in as soon as she shows any signs of digging. Will doing this prevent her losing any more nails?


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## lexiT (Jul 30, 2010)

Kayles 12 said:


> Thank very much. Yep i have a large container ready for next time and some vermiculite ready for her too, i will place this in as soon as she shows any signs of digging. Will doing this prevent her losing any more nails?


Prob would be best to get her nails clipped in the next week or so, to minimise the risk of breaking when she starts digging again. She should be just fine as long as she is getting enough food with calci dust/nutrobol to boost up her levels. A few juicy wax worms over the next couple of weeks will fatten her back up :lol2:. It's also worthwhile offering her a drink of water as they become quite dehydrated after laying. 

Hope you have success with the eggs. :2thumb: What morph is she and what morph was she mated with?


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

Yer i was thinking about getting the other nails clipped so that the problem cannot occur gain. 
Wax worms is a great idea thanks i shall go and get her some tomorrow .

She is getting a lot of calci powder on her food to build her back up and help her to recover. She has a bowl/container in her viv which i refresh each day but she never seems to drink it, the only time i catch her drinking is when i bath her, is this a bad thing??

Thankyou very much, i shall post how they go . 

She is a sandfire but i am not sure what morph he is as i bought him form somone else and they didnt know. He is quite a pae colour but somtimes he goes a dark black. Any idea of what he may be?


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## lexiT (Jul 30, 2010)

Kayles 12 said:


> Yer i was thinking about getting the other nails clipped so that the problem cannot occur gain.
> Wax worms is a great idea thanks i shall go and get her some tomorrow .
> 
> She is getting a lot of calci powder on her food to build her back up and help her to recover. She has a bowl/container in her viv which i refresh each day but she never seems to drink it, the only time i catch her drinking is when i bath her, is this a bad thing??
> ...


 
Fab.....just feed her a wax worm every other day and dust it in nutrobol & calci-dust..she will love it 

As for water intake.....if you are bathing her she will take what she needs then. Personally I don't put water bowls in my vivs as they create too much humidity due to the heat/temps which can in the long run cause Respiratory Infections/problems. This it's just my opinion, I know there are people who will disagree. As they are desert reps they get their water intake from the desert vegetation...so will be getting enough from their daily salad especially if it has been rinsed/freshly bagged. I don't bath my two....they hated it from day one. When they are out their viv I spray/mist them with water working from the tail upwards as not to startle them. They love it  i do this twice a week and when they are shedding i do it every day. Once every three weeks I offer them a drink of water (again out their vivs) just hold a dish near to them and sometimes they drink...sometimes they don't. 

If your male is pale in colour he could be citrus, snow, hypo it's worth doing a search on BD Morphs. Should be some beautiful babies :2thumb:

Keep posting how you & mum of course are getting on  it's now the countdown until the next batch :lol2:


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

Thanks for that i will do that and dust it in calci powder. 

I always wash the veg and fruit to ensure it contains enough water so that they can both get water from their food as i was worried she was not getting enough as i hardly ever see her drink. I shall also start spraying them aswell. When my female sheds she stards and never seems to complete the shed, i bath her to encorage the sheding but it does not seem to work. Do you know why this could be?

I am going to research into what morph he will be as then i will have more of an idea about the babies morph, thanks for the suggestions i shall look into them morphs first. 

I will defo keep posted about them, the eggs are still lovely and plump, and the mum seems to be getting all her energy back


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## lexiT (Jul 30, 2010)

Kayles 12 said:


> Thanks for that i will do that and dust it in calci powder.
> 
> I always wash the veg and fruit to ensure it contains enough water so that they can both get water from their food as i was worried she was not getting enough as i hardly ever see her drink. I shall also start spraying them aswell. When my female sheds she stards and never seems to complete the shed, i bath her to encorage the sheding but it does not seem to work. Do you know why this could be?
> 
> ...


When you say your female is having probelms shedding...is she retaining shed on certain areas? i.e is there any discolouration/darkening on her limbs/tail? It is normal though for beardies to shed in patches. Bathing her in luke warm water will help but there is no harm getting her checked, if only for peace of mind.


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## Kayles 12 (Feb 25, 2011)

You can see where she has shed as the new scales are lighter, but i think this is because i used to have a dark orange colour sand and it made her orange since iv changed the sand and her new scales are her original colour. 

I placed her in luke warm water today and she seemed happy, i shall see if she sheds any more over the next few days as last time she shed she did it in small stages, and if nothing happens i will get her checked.


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