Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first time breeding bearded dragons and I have a few questions that I need help with immediatly please!!! I have a german giant female who began laying her eggs. Stupidly I was not prepared because I was expecting them next week. Anyway- she was not on any substrate- she layed one three to four hours ago- that the right side of it appears to be drying- and another app. two hours ago which I saw and realized she was birthing. I got together a laying box- she's been digging in there for app. two hours and has not appeared to be laying any more. Should I be concerned? Also- these eggs were gigantic about the size of an ob-longed shaped qaurter. Any help, sugg., or advice would be MUCH appreciated!!
Thank you!you could e-mail me at colbylaidlaw@hotmail.com too.

Well, to be honest with you, I have not bred my dragons yet either. However, I have done a bit of reading on it, and I would think that you could try to incubate the two eggs she has already laid. Don't turn them, you don't want to separate the yolk from the baby inside (if she has been with a male anyways). She will probably keep digging in her nesting box until she feels she has dug a comfortable laying spot. You want the dirt/sand to be hard enough so it doesn't cave in on her, but not so hard that she cannot dig into it, you need to moisten the dirt to get this effect. She may dig for awhile until she feels comfortable. Someone please correct me if I am wrong, as I have never gone through this before, and I have only read about it. Thanks. Keep us posted!

Colby,

My dragons have laid several clutches. You said that she didn't start digging until today. None of my females have laid eggs until they have dug for up to two weeks. What can happen is one egg can slide out while they are having a bowel movement or probably because it gets so crowded that one just falls out. This does not mean that she is ready to lay the full clutch. She will not lay them until she is "ready" and is happy with the laying area. I go crazy trying to make the perfect area for them, each one is different. Also, they can start digging after they have eaten because they feel so full. Get an area available for her. Put her in it once a day, she will probably hop out after short time. Like I said earlier, you may have another 2 weeks to go. What is her conception date, mine take at least 6 weeks. Don't worry, she will lay them when she is ready.

As for what to do with the eggs, the ones that slip out early can either be good or bad. Get them in the moist dirt and the indented part of the egg will fill back up after awhile, it is just a little dried out.

J. Melissa McQuaid