Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. My water dragons are 4 and 3 years old. Both are females. But I've never seen them lay an egg before. They are healthy, have good nutrition, calcium supplementation, UV light, and a deep area (not sandy though, just wood shavings) for them to dig, which they love. I've had them radiographed twice before, once 2 years ago, and once 3 months ago. No eggs were found during both times. I also palpate their abdomen frequently to see if there are any eggs so I can give them extra calcium. None was ever palpated. Is it a must for females to have eggs? Is it ok if they don't?? Any ideas? Thanks.

Your very lucky that they don't. Without a male to fertilize the eggs, the female will hold them for a much longer time under stress and are far more likely to become egg bound. They do not treat infertiles eggs as they would fertile ones, they usually don't bother to bury them or even to dig. If released early you may not even be aware that they eggs at all, just dried up pieced of yellow in their feces. I have had females that stopped producing eggs for a number of years and then start again, triggered, by a new female in the territory or male. They can produce eggs well through 16 years of age, so you have plenty of time to breed them. Although, my younger females tend have a better hatching rate.

So, this means that if there are no males around, the eggs will not be laid as fully developed ones?So, as long as the eggs are not retained, it's ok? All I need to do is to check frequently for any signs that the eggs may be retained. So, this is nothing to worry about? Thanks....what a relief.

Females can hold infertile eggs for up to six months. Egg binding is when the eggs fuse together and can not be passed, or can not be pass because of their size, or hip problems. In any case the female will stop eating entirely and will often be found straining trying to push them out. So really the only thing you have to keep an eye on is their eating habits and behavor. Also, I should mention that Waterdragons, and Basilisks are capable of parthenogenic reproduction, although it is not common, it can occur, so any White healthy looking egg should be incubated regardless if the female has been mated or not.