Reptile & Amphibian Forums

3 weeks ago, my beardie laid her first clutch of eggs 15 eggs and had a uterine prolapse. I rushed her to the vet, where they replaced the uterine tissue and stitched her. she is recovering nicely. i am concerned about recurrence. i understand that she can lay eggs again, even though she has not been with the male since this occurence. my vet said she could be spayed. i'm not sure if this is a good idea, or not. i read melissa kaplan's article on spaying, stating that it's still so new with lizards and there's not much long term evidence of how the spaying affects the lizard's life. can anyone give advice? i need to make a decision asap as i'm worried she'll lay more eggs soon.

katharine
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Beardies don't do well with anesthesia and there is a chance she will not wake from the surgery. Sometimes you have no choice, it's life or death anyway. Make sure you have a very experienced reptile Vet and he has done this more than once before you let him/her do it. Also check to see how he will put her under anesthesia. Where I worked they used all gas ISO often called "tank down" they are put in a sealed tank and the gas fills the tank and they go to sleep. This was all about 4 years ago when I worked there so I don't know if there is anything safer now a days or not. Best of luck and keep us updated please.

Here's a real radical idea; separate them.

Not actually such a radical idea. A bearded can have sperm reteniton and lay several clutches of eggs off one breeding. Second a bearded does not have to be bred to lay eggs, but of course they would be infertile. I think this person knows enough not to let her with a male again, but it's not that easy.

you see my dilema, skmwilliams. skmwilliams is right, spook. even if kept separate from the male, females can lay eggs even without mating and furthermore can have retained sperm from a previous mating and lay more clutches. hence, my dilema. i wish it were just a matter of separating her.

i'm leaning toward just letting nature handle this one. i don't like the sound of putting her under anesthesia. i think the spaying sounds worse than if she prolapses again. maybe, she won't lay anymore anyway. otherwise, i just pray the prolapse doesn't recur. i do have a good vet, luckily.

thanks for all your posts guys,
katharine
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