Beardie constantly laying eggs???

hey guys, i'm not sure if this is an emergency thing, but thought better to be safe than sorry later
my 3.5 year old beardie has been laying eggs like crazy. She has had 2 clutches in about a month, and she is digging and acting like she is going to lay another clutch. before this she had never laid eggs, and she also has never come in contact with a male beardie. she is pretty sickly, and won't eat much. she's dropped a little weight too. she's is digging in her viv, but won't dig in the laybox i made for her. her one clutch she laid in her viv, and the other she laid in the laybox. the first clutch was about 10 eggs, and the second was around 20 eggs. is this a problem? or is this normal?? i read somewhere that beardies that haven't been mated with should only lay one clutch of eggs if any at all. i'm worried about her because she is my world. is there anything i can do for her at all?? i would take her to the vet but i want to be sure she needs it bc the closest vet to me is about 3 hrs away, and very expensive.
thanks for your help in advance!

Can you post a few pics showing her body condition and pics of her set up + laybox ? It's pretty common for them to dig around in different areas before settling down to actually lay. Hopefully it will be in the laybox.


And it's actually more rare for them to lay a single clutch....you heard incorrect about that. Most beardies lay between 2-6 clutches in a year, once in a great while it will be more but it's almost never just one.


Has she eaten well + do you give her calcium ?

Oh this is always stressful when it starts. Yes, it's normal for them to lay multiple clutches of eggs without them being fertilized, so it's not in itself off behavior, but it can be very stressful on them and can cause serious health issues. If your girl is acting lethargic, has lost her appetite, and especially if she's losing weight, then she definitely should see a reptile vet that is experienced with bearded dragons.

When breeders are purposely breeding their females, they make sure that they have ample weight to lose before they breed them, and they also increase their calcium intake beforehand. You couldn't do that because you didn't plan this, so every clutch has depleted her Calcium levels greatly, along with her weight, and it's taking it's toll on her. A reptile vet will most likely give her a calcium injection, and probably a high-calorie food replacement that you'll need to feed her with an oral syringe, like Oxbow.

So yes, I'd definitely get her to an experienced reptile vet ASAP, in the meantime you'll want to make sure that your UVB light is adequate, is unobstructed by anything like a mesh lid or a clear plastic cover on the fixture over the bulb, and is at the correct distance from her basking spot. What brand/model/type of UVB bulb do you have for her? Is it a long tube, or is it a regular compact lightbulb or a coil bulb? Without proper UVB lighting she cannot absorb any Calcium you give her. So that's step one. Step two is increasing the dusting of her live bugs and sprinkling on her salad of her calcium and multivitamin powders. What supplement powders do you use, and how often do you give them to her? Really a liquid Calcium supplement daily would be better right now instead of a powder, the vet will most likely give you liquid Calcium. And then you want to make sure that your temperatures inside her enclosure are correct. What are the temps of her basking spot, Hot Side, and Cool Side? And what type of thermometer are you using to measure the temperatures? If her enclosure is set up correctly then this will make it much easier for her to recover quickly.

If you can answer the above questions and post a photo of her and also of her enclosure we can help make sure your husbandry is correct. In the meantime I would make sure you get her scheduled at the reptile vet ASAP. Be sure to tell them that she has laid 2 clutches already and is working on a third one, and that she is lethargic and not eating, so she's losing weight. They should get you in quickly.

I remember her from your other thread. Gina can you post a couple pics for now even if you don't have time to answer all those questions ? Does she look like this still or is she just a bit thinner a lot thinner ?

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=233726

She looks nice and big in that photo from may, so that's good, at least she was in good health when this started and not underweight.

AHBD":2nsny1yn said:

Can you post a few pics showing her body condition and pics of her set up + laybox ? It's pretty common for them to dig around in different areas before settling down to actually lay. Hopefully it will be in the laybox.


And it's actually more rare for them to lay a single clutch....you heard incorrect about that. Most beardies lay between 2-6 clutches in a year, once in a great while it will be more but it's almost never just one.


Has she eaten well + do you give her calcium ?

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i put the towel in on top of her sand to try and get her to stop digging, because she is scratching constantly, and she's filing her nails down pretty good while doing it. she is bearding at me in the pictures because i put my hand in to pet her, she hissed and tried to bite. she actually ate today, 15-25 super worms which is a lot more than she has been eating usually. she also ate a bit of baby food that i gave her. i do use calcium, and always have since i got her about a year ago. i set her in the laybox just now, and she has decided she's gonna dig now, so hopefully she'll lay and then be okay ?

That's good that she ate, and she is still a decent size. You might not want to give her that many at once.....maybe 10 at a time and be sure to dust with calcium.


And see, she really is very active but all her activity is going to digging....that is perfectly normal. She's agitated because she really wants to lay and is stressed. I had one female that would get a black beard and puff at me, too.

The time to get worried is when the STOP trying to dig and become very lethargic, just laid out with no energy. Other than that it's normal behavior.

AHBD":i4ciigur said:

That's good that she ate, and she is still a decent size. You might not want to give her that many at once.....maybe 10 at a time and be sure to dust with calcium.


And see, she really is very active but all her activity is going to digging....that is perfectly normal. She's agitated because she really wants to lay and is stressed. I had one female that would get a black beard and puff at me, too.

The time to get worried is when the STOP trying to dig and become very lethargic, just laid out with no energy. Other than that it's normal behavior.

Click to expand...

she dug a hole, but now she's just laying in the laybox, away from the hole she just dug out, and she's not laying eggs or anything... she seems sleepy and keeps closing her eyes.. should i put her back in her viv? or will she lay her eggs?

Give her a little time in the viv to get more heat to digest her large meal. You might give her a drink as well.....drip water on her snout or give her a brief 10 minute soak in warm water if she drinks when soaked. Then after about an hour of basking in her viv put her back in the laybox.

How is she doing ? Is she still digging or has she laid eggs ?