Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everybody, This is my first post, frequent reader, but first time jumping in the pool.

I have a female dragon about 18 months old drop her first clutch of eggs (not fertile) on Tuesday April 6, there were 20 eggs. Barney (surprise i'm a girl) seems to be fine, eating here fruits, veggies, greens, and bugs just fine, gave her a heap of dusted crickets to help her replenish her calcium.

Took a trip to The Enclosure (local exotics store) and picked up a male (approx 16 months) and an incubator, placed the Male (Clyde) in the tank Sunday the 11th, and watched the action happen, alllllll the rituals, and dances came to life, and the two were made for each other. I took most of the decor out of the tank, and have a large cave for basking/hiding, also piled a lot of extra sand on one side of the tank.

My question is, how long should i expect to see another clutch drop, i'm sure it takes more then a week for new eggs to develop, so i like to think there is a good chance the next clutch may be fertile, just wondering if you guys could post some time frames in which your clutches have shown up, once a month, every 5th week, or whatever. Thank you all very much!!!!

and if any of you are football fans, sorry The Steelers are looking like a bunch of Jagoffs, hopefully the Rooney's can fix this mess!!

Hi there...it is usually right about a month apart...could be a bit longer at times. So you got your dragon at the Enclosure in Pittsburgh? I've known Mark for many years,what a beautiful store he has.I hope you get what you are waiting for...fertile eggs !

I would have waited a bit if she dropped a klutch of unfertile eggs, and made sure she has all of her calcium levels up high enough to commense with breeding "Fertile" eggs with the new male you just purchased...

But, said and done, she will probably be ready for round 2....

Beardies are capable of producing multiple klutches after mating due to sperm storage in the female's bodies. Because she already mated, I would dust her crickets & grubs a tad more frequently with a Calcium (containing d3) suppliment to assure her intake of proper vitamins and to avoid her calcium levels to plummit.

You may be suprised and end up with 2 or 3 klutches of eggs!

**** To be on the safe side with Beardies.... They should obtain a weight of 300-350 grams (FEMALES) when bred. If she is less than this, it is okay... But her calcium levels will drop quicker due to size and result of a smaller klutch of eggs.

BEST OF LUCK!
www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

Valid point about waiting, i did consider that, but assumed that it would take a while for the eggs to form again, and figured mating her now wouldn't effect the situation. I'll have to add it to my notes, and wait next time, see if there is a different outcome.

I have been dusting her food more often, and soaking her once a week, she isn't a fan, but gets plenty water from misted fruits and veggies.

Also, i have her housed with the male right now, is it better to separate them after mating, he doesn't seem to harass her, but don't want her stressed or "overworked" if thats possible. Obviously i wanna do whats in the best interest in both of them, would rather not set up a whole new tank if not needed, but not opposed to it either. Thanks!

I don't know for sure whether a late mating will result in the next clutch of eggs being fertile. However, as stated previously, she is likely to clutch again in 3-5 weeks. Some can do it sooner, and some even later than 5 weeks. However average usually is 3-4 weeks. She can have as many as 6 clutches in total over the summer...typically anywhere between 2-5 clutches can be expected. Younger females (15 months to 2-3 years of age) have more clutches than older females...typically after 6 years, the clutch rate drops completely and most breeders retire their females at 6 years of age. They can still lay eggs but they won't be as frequent or as many per clutch.

I would separate the male, its best to house dragons separately or in trios with two females to one male, this way the male's attention is spread between the females. Even then, its always best to be prepared to separate the dragons. To produce fertile clutches the male only really has to mate with the female a few times and the female will retain enough sperm to run the season.

The next clutch...depending on how many days since she laid the first infertile clutch she had, before you mated her with the male, may be fertile or infertile. If they are fertile they will appear much more white in color and won't feel as squishy as infertile eggs. They may also be larger in size as well. Her third clutch is very likely to be fertile though.
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PHLdyPayne

I forgot to ask... How old is she?

I have a 4 year old recessive citrus female that lays in-fertile klutches from time to time of 5-10 eggs, they are inevidably yellow & unhealthy looking when they are layed. I put them in the incubator and give the eggs the benifit of the doubt of hatching but within days they tend to deflate or bust open with puss (I know, sounds gross).

Although when she is back up to her appropriate weight I do house her with one of our Core Breeder Orange Phase males for less than a week, an try to do my best to catch the "copulation" and then separate them.

You can house them temporarily, but you said you DO NOT see signs of harassment or constant agressive breeding behavior...

If you separate them and leave them apart for a week or two, it will AMP the male up a bit more and your chances will be greater when they are placed back together temporarily for breeding purposes and getting them to "connect" will be increased.
www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

It really depends on the female. Mine tend to average about 20 days between clutches. I have one female that consistently lays every 14-15 days. I don't remember ever having a female go a month between clutches.

You really should have quarantined the new animal. And it sounds like you should work on your nest box. The sand needs to be the right temperature and wetness to get her to use it. It also needs to be the right moisture so the eggs don't dry out if you are looking to hatch babies. Personally, I'd be sure you have provisions for where the babies will go prior to incubating them. You could always just incubate a couple to get the experience and then just freeze the other eggs right after laying to humanely euthanize them.

Thanks for the input, I LOVE The Enclosure, Mark is a great guy to have access too, the knowledge is endless, i met him years ago at the old reptile show in Monroeville.

As far as the quarantine goes, i didn't feel it to be an issue, knowing the dragon was raised at the store as part of Marks hold backs.

As for the sand, thats where this post comes in, I didn't want to prep the sand too early, and have her drop an infertile clutch, i figured if i left it dry, she may hold back a little, so taking the two responses into consideration, i think day 21, i will groom the sand as needed.
A
s far as where the youngsters will go (if i am that lucky) i have no worries, Mark expressed interest, i also have worked for a small chain of petstores that would be willing to take them also. But good looking out!!!!

thanks again!!!