Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got one female that just laid her second clutch of infertile eggs in about a month. She's part of an 0.2 group, this female has not been with a male since being a wee little hatchling. She is now over a year and a half old (closer to 1 3/4). I havent heard of females doing this repeatedly, only once. Has anyone else's cresteds done this?

Should I suppliment the usual CGD with calcium if she keeps it up?

Thanks,
Mike

If she is laying, it doesnt hurt to supplement with a bit of extra calcium, perhaps dust prey items (if you use them) with a calcium powder. Ive even heard of laying females taking calcium directly from a dish if left in the enclosure. Leaving a small dish of calcium wouldnt hurt.

absolutely any time i've ever " introduced" a male into a females enclosure having the temps right and both beefed up, they start going at it almost immediately ( within 1/2 an hour) even if it's broad daylight and i just woke them up. you may want to try separating the male for a day or two ( sometimes even a few hours will work). give us a little more info on both animals sizes, cage set up etc.

Its males.females, right?

There are no males involved, and hence no breeding. I am positive these are females.

... I didnt even catch the 0.2 group, and misread the "hasn't been with a male since being a wee little hatchling" part.
As far as laying multiple, infertile clutchs without mating, a little more information is needed there. Do you own any male cresteds, that are in the same room and within viewing sight of the female. Sometimes, when a female is ready to reproduce, the sight of a male will cause them to start producing eggs, fertilized or not. Keep in mind, that in "the wild" when these two see each other, breeding is more than likely going to occur.
If this is the case, (you having a male in viewing sight) I would suggest moving them to opposite sides of the room, and obstructing the females view of him. Im not sure how pheromones play into crested breeding, so I really can't say if his presence would still induce the same behavior, even without seeing him.

If this isn't the case, and you dont have a male in the room, then I really have no idea what could be causing this. Best of luck, and drop us a bit more information if you could.

a female will produce eggs if she feels necessary and will lay them whether they be fertile or not. this is why keeping female animals in chameleons and bearded dragons etc. if you're not going to breed them is a bad idea. they can become egg bound or lay eggs unnecessarily. get her with a male, or lower your temps to about 68 degrees or just a bit below and she will stop laying. i've never had this happen with cresteds but have had it happen several time with uroplatus lineatus.

First of all, thanks for the replies

I dont own any males, and she's never even seen one since maturity. There's no nest box or even loose substrate in there, she just crawls between 2 layers of paper towels and lays them. I know when shes done it because I'll find her sleeping down there near them instead of up in the bamboo she usually likes.

If I drop the temps to 68 or so, how will that effect the other female in there? It stays around 70-72 in there now (higher in the summer obviously), and they definitely prefer the warmer end of the cage as it is.

The jump from keeping to breeding has always been a little intimidating, but maybe its time to scrape up some extra time and money and do it.