Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I made an appt just for check-up and last Thursday
Beanie stopped eating. She also is very active and wanting
out of her cage. This is NOT like her!

The good news that after 8 months with me she went from
1 lb to 2.2 lbs and has went from 2 1/2' to 3'2".

The bad news is, she can feel eggs developing. My vet said
expect her to be off food for at least a month. I am
so worried! I am afraid of all of the things that come
along with eggs. I know that some people have lost their
Igs with this. The vet did give me oral calcium to give
her every 3 days. She also instructed me to use topsoil
soil for her to lay them in. The vet is expecting her
to lay around the end of June. Please give me some tips
on what to do and how to ensure she gets enough water. Is
this the usual time of year for eggs for them? Does the
end of June sound accurate?

Thanks in advance

Linda

hey, its good that shes healthy enough to develop eggs sorry i cant advise ya, but best of luck!!

Sarah (whos ferrets would love some unfertalized ig eggs..mmm)

please.

Thanks
Linda

>>My vet said
>>expect her to be off food for at least a month.

Don't bet on this quite yet. Continue offering food to her throughout the entire gestation period. I've never seen a female go off food for a month before laying... Maybe a week or so, but a month seems a little extreme.

>>The vet did give me oral calcium to give
>>her every 3 days.

This may or may not help... But it certainly wont make the situation worse. It may be too far into the gestation to start adding extra calcium and still see benefits. You will want to continue the calcium supplements for a month or two AFTER she lays eggs too.

>>She also instructed me to use topsoil
>>soil for her to lay them in.

I use a 50/50 topsoil & sand mixture. It holds water better, and will let her dig a burrow that will hold it's shape. Get the largest rubbermaid tub you can find, and cut a hole in the side or top of it just big enough for her to climb in. Fill it 2/3 full of the dirt/sand mixture. You should try to have at least 1-2 ft of dirt for her to dig in. You may have to show her the box a few times so she knows what it is...

>>Please give me some tips
>>on what to do and how to ensure she gets enough water.

Bathe her every other day or daily, for starters... Will she drink from a spray bottle? This is usually the easiest way to get an ig to drink for you. Also mist her food heavily with water every day, to make sure she gets enough moisture from her greens.

It will be most important to watch her for egg binding, be very careful with handling (don't break any eggs while they are inside her), and keep her comfortable so she can lay her eggs in peace.

>>this the usual time of year for eggs for them? Does the
>>end of June sound accurate?

I've seen females lay eggs at all different times of year, although late spring/early summer seems to be most common.

The iguanas I have seen die during egg laying were usually not in optimum health, and their other problems make the egg laying more difficult. A healthy female with a proper egg laying site will usually not have problems. On the other hand, I had a female lay eggs from a shelf 6 ft off the floor of the room once, and she continued to walk around the room for several days, laying eggs wherever she felt like it. This was an odd case though...

Good luck!

Mark
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Mark & Aimee Berger
reptilesrus@msn.com

Beanie's normal water intake is from me misting her food
with water. She is not eating anything. This is what
concerns me. I do use a mist bottle but I do not know if
these few drops on her nose are enough.

Also, her care before last September was not too good.
She has old MBD shown by her jaw. I read that these
guys have a good chance of having problems with laying.
Since I have adopted her I have taken care of her
by the book and all the info I have received from the
forum. This has only been for 8 months so I am hoping
she was able to get healthy enough for this. I have
already made a nest box exactly like you have recommended.

Do you think that with her going off food all together
now that maybe she will lay them sooner than a month?

I really appreciate all your help! I am praying everything
goes OK.

Linda & Beanie

I just went thru this back around Easter. And like you all I thought about was all the horror stories about egg binding! My Zok started reducing her food intake. She about drove us crazy wanting out of her cage, definately not her normal behavior. She wanted to constantly roam the apartment. She would still drink out of the tub when she got her bath. This went on for a couple of weeks then her appetite increased again. then she stopped eating entirely. It was 2 weeks from the time she laid her first egg (in the middle of the kitchen floor)till she was finished (26 eggs laid on her basking shelf 5 ft in the air!). During this time I noticed that when I misted her she would start to lick at the water on her basking shelf. I started to gently spray her mouth with the mister bottle and she learned to drink from it. My vet was monitoring the situation the whole time. She told me the problem most people have with losing their igs in egg laying is the ig wasn't in very good health to begin with and then when there was a problem the owners waited till the ig was on deaths door before they brought her in. Watch for her going yellow in color, getting depressed/lethargic acting and getting hollow eyed. Be careful handling her as you may rupture the eggs inside her and that can be very dangerous. My suggestion is to get your vet involved,. its worth it for your peace of mind.
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Merlin

np
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Merlin