Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I have a relatively large, healthy, 7 1/2 year old female beardie who hasn't mated in 3 years, but keeps making eggs. She is currently laying a clutch of infertile eggs, but she decided to dig her hole outside - not in the nice bin i made her - and the temperature outside is dropping rather quickly. I can see a clump of eggs in the hole, but it doesn't look like she is finished. She has been at it for a couple of hours now, mostly resting and sleeping with occasional movement that looks like she is pushing one out. I've put up several floodlights to warm her up and her body temp is currently up to 75 degrees. Is it better to leave her in her hole and keep monitoring her temp and status or remove her from her hole and let her warm up in the house and finish tomorrow? I have never really interrupted her in the middle like this, but I don't want her to get too cold. Its rained a lot here in the Phoenix area, so I'm sure the dirt is damp and cold on her belly. I can only get the temp gun on her back.

I don't know what is worse - risking hypothermia or risking getting eggbound...

What do you think I should do with her??

Thanks!
Lisa

How cold do you expect it to go tonight? Dragons are fine down to temps as low as 60F. If in a burrow, the temperature inside, especially if deep, may not go anywhere near as low as it does above ground.

I would just wait a few more hours then bring her inside. You can set up a lay box and put her inside of it once you have her in the house. She can sleep in that for the rest of the night if she chooses.
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PHLdyPayne

Thank you. The lamps warmed things up enough and she finally finished laying. She then took a very long time to very carefully bury her infertile blob of eggs. Its kind of sad that she wasted so much time and effort making, laying and burying those eggs.

I am hoping that she got all the eggs out. I was out there a lot checking on her and checking the temps with my temp gun. I hope she didn't just stop because I bugged her too much. She's a pretty big girl too so its pretty hard to determine if all the eggs are actually out just by looking or feeling. I will probably worry for a week or so before taking her to the vet for an xray!

Thanks again for the advice! I was worried. The ground away from the lamps got down to 49 degrees - so it was pretty cold!

Lisa

If she's done it before than I guess its okay. With inclimate temps dropping below 65 beware of a possible Respiratory Infection risk! Definelty due to her age. Best of luck!

Thanks! I will definitely watch for signs of resp infection. She sure is a stubborn girl! She used to be real good about her nesting bin, but lately, she only wants to lay outside. Despite not being bred in years, she insists upon making several clutches of wasted eggs a year and is getting more and more insistent on the outside nests! She's driving me crazy!!

Thanks,
Lisa
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10.18.0 Bearded Dragons
0.1.0 Giant Day Gecko
0.1.0 Golden Gecko
1.0.0 Henkle's Leaf Tail
1.0.0 African Fat Tail
4.6.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
2.0.0 Bijon Frise Dog
RIP Tazzie & Red - my beloved beardies

I record all of my dragons egg laying specifics. I record their weight before I put them in the nest box and then again after they are done. I also record the date and how many eggs are laid. After you've done this for a while you will notice a pattern for each dragon. It really helps to know what the average time between clutches and what the normal amount of eggs and weight loss for each female is.

Thanks! I guess I got lazy in the record keeping area because she didn't mate and the eggs are not fertile. But you brought up a really good point - I should keep better track of the situation for her health, not just for the eggs! I kept really good records back when I was breeding her, but got lazy when babies were not involved. But you are 100% right, it's just as important now - especially with her getting older! Thanks!

Lisa

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10.18.0 Bearded Dragons
0.1.0 Giant Day Gecko
0.1.0 Golden Gecko
1.0.0 Henkle's Leaf Tail
1.0.0 African Fat Tail
4.6.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
2.0.0 Bijon Frise Dog
RIP Tazzie & Red - my beloved beardies