Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, I have a nubila x caymanensis hybrid that is just shy of two years old, that I suspected was probably a female. This was rather dramatically confirmed this morning when I noticed that her abdomen looked very deflated, and I found one enormous (for her size) egg in her enclosure. It measured in at 2 3/8" long and 1 1/4" wide and weighed 1.25 oz. The animal herself is 27" long overall and has a SVL of a little over 10 inches.

I have had several female green iguanas, and while they occasionally presented me with eggs, all of them were at least a year older and almost twice the size of my cyclura. I have never seen an egg of this size come out of an animal that small; I'm amazed that she was able to pass it. This is my first cyclura, so I'm wondering if it's normal for a female this young to produce eggs, or if mine is just an oddball.

That does seem really young, but perhaps someone with more experience can shed more light. I thought Kismet was young at four, based on what I'd read, but have since heard of many younger hybrids laying. She laid four enormous eggs at that time. Cyclura eggs really are huge, aren't they? I was the same way -- totally shocked that all that came out of my little bit of a girl. Kismet looked so depleted afterwards that I was scared and rushed her to the vet. I'd no idea she was gravid at the time. The vet x-rayed her and verified she'd passed all of her eggs. Two years later she laid seven on exactly the same date (July 27). I took her back to the vet for an x-ray. Now, two years after that I suspect she is gravid again. I guess I'll know at the end of next month.

The good news is that it only took a couple of days for her to recover that first time, and once she got her appetite back (which was pretty quick)she was completely fine. After the second clutch, she was fine within 24 hours.

I've heard several stories of Cyclura becoming eggbound so I will take her for x-ray when she lays again. In the meantime I'm making sure she gets a bit of extra calcium and plenty of real sunlight. It's too little too late in your case on the prep -- just as it was for me the first time Kismet laid eggs. However, I do recommend the vet visit for an x-ray.