AGB Change in Behavior

[Rimba]

Hello everyone!

I have a small question regarding my AGB.
She's about four and half years old, and over time has gradually been digging less and less. I understand that, to an extent, this is natural as they become adults.
However, it's at the point where she nearly never makes any tunnels.

I have her in a fairly large tank with about 5" of substrate (premade, mostly from bugsincyberspace). I know that's not quite deep enough, and I'm working on getting more. Bugsincyberspace is currently out of their mix, and for the life of me I can't find a trustworthy compost component to use in my own (still taking suggestions on that). She also has a layer of oak leaves on top of the substrate. Her tank stays around 78 degrees and 80% humidity, and I keep it relatively dark.

Most days she sleeps in a pit she made underneath a cork round, and sometimes (like right now) she sleeps high up at the top of a piece of wood.
I'm concerned with how much her behavior has changed over the years, and about the fact that she seems to be eating less and less substrate, which is meant to be her primary source of nutrition. I give her snacks (spinach, mushrooms, a freeze-dried minnow here-and-there), about twice a week, and she eats them with gusto.

Is it possible she doesn't like the substrate? Maybe bugsincyberspace changed their recipe. Or maybe I should stop worrying about it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Arthroverts]

I am not sure if any definite conclusions can be drawn from the info provided. Has there been any substantial changes in temperature, moisture, or available food?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Rimba]

I am not sure if any definite conclusions can be drawn from the info provided. Has there been any substantial changes in temperature, moisture, or available food?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

That’s totally reasonable. Unfortunately, nothing obvious has changed.

I’d say the biggest change over the years has been that I’ve improved her heating and humidity conditions overall. Both parameters are much, much more consistent than they were when she was digging more often. Maybe the inconsistency of her above-ground environment encouraged her to take refuge below-ground more often. Is there any reason I should introduce variation in conditions?

The other big change is that I moved her from a cylindrical, acrylic 16 gallon container to a rectangular glass 20 gallon container. But part of the reason I did that in the first place was because she had already stopped digging and I wanted to give her more floor-space.
She also has more shelter than she used to have—more cork in her habitat to sleep under.

I would say food is about the same, except for that she eats a LOT more. I offer her more variety these days, but she’ll eat about everything I put in there.

I know this is mostly anecdotal guesswork, so I won’t take anything as gospel!

Thanks for your response.

 

[Arthroverts]

It doesn't sound like there is a cause for concern here, just for some reason, whether due to the consistency in overall environment making it feel more comfortable or something else, it is acting differently.

Unless you want to breed there isn't really a reason to offer seasonal variation to African species. Obviously with one female specimen breeding is not a goal of yours, ha ha.

Thanks,

Arthroverts