Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click to visit DM Exotics
Click for ZooMed
Click here to visit Classifieds

Are the eggs fertile?

jingle Jul 29, 2004 08:33 PM

Hi,
We keep two bearded dragons in the same cage.
We didn't know their sex, so we asked a woman
who works at the petshop we often go to.
She told us that they are both females.

But from what I've read, males have bigger heads, right?
and one of them does seem to have a bigger head than the other one.
Also, the other one never laid eggs.
(Am I just getting confused by these small things?)
They're around the same age and we've been feeding them the same thing.

About two months ago, one of them laid her first clutch of eggs.
We were totally not aware of it and found it a little late.
I remember there were around 13 of them...
They were all indented and dried, because they were under the
spot light area.

The same beardie's pregnant again, I can see the marble sort of bumps under her belly.
She no longer wants mealworms, but loves veggies and water.

I thought the eggs weren't fertile, because they're both females.
But I'm confused now...
...the two beardies are behaving weird.
They're nodding their heads,
The one that's not pregnant, is very aggressive and mean
to the other one.
(It once bit the other one.. )

The pregnant one seems to be looking for an egg laying site.
She also looks very nervous and jumpy.
We keep them in a big tank, but there's nowhere for her to dig deep.
So I put a medium sized food container with some moist soil in it.
I guess the eggs aren't fertile, but will I know if they are or not when she lays them?

Okay, this was kinda long..so let me summerize.
-I'm not sure if both of them are females...
(any clear differences between male and females?)
-Females do lay infertile eggs by themselves right?
-How would I know if the eggs are fertile of not when she lays them?
-If one female is pregnant, is there a reason for the other female to be aggressive and mean? ..Like biting??

Alright! It's over now!!This is the end to your reading!!
Now...replying time!!!

Replies (2)

Joel R Jul 29, 2004 08:48 PM

Well to start, yes some females get aggressive toward others. They can head bob, darken their beard, have large phemoral pores, etc. I have even heard of them doing mating behavior, even putting their tail under the others, the only difference is there is no hemipenis to penetrate. Much like a female dog humping another, or your leg. lol

Head size is in no way a proper sexing method. I'll include a link bellow to the Dachiu's site which has clear pics on how to sex them.

I have never seen nonmated eggs so I don't know if they would be firm & white or not??? anyone else??? I do know that the only way to be certain if eggs are fertile with a mated female is to candle them about a week after they are laid.
Anyone else know if they can be firm or would they be slugs, if they have not mated?

Now, if they are fertile & you are not prepared to incubate, hatch, & care for the babies, I would just put them in the freezer. If you find out that you have a pair, first thing you have to do is separate them. Then if you decided to mate them in the future, make sure they are unrelated first of all, do your homework & be prepared before you even attempt to take the next step.

Good luck.
Dachiu's sexing page

-----
Joel R

Coming some day.
www.SpikesAndScales.com

littleherper Jul 30, 2004 06:52 AM

What you have described is normal behaviour seen between males and females. the eggs are probably fertile. where did the "non-pregnant one" bite the female? if it was on the back of the head that that is normal, it is part of courtship.
-----
sincerely,
Jonathan D. de Kluyver
JDDK Reptiles
Quality Reptiles and Amphibianswww.jddkreptiles.com

Site Tools