Male owned for 4/5 years laid eggs for first time. HELP.

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Gazoonia

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Good morning, guys. And what a morning it is!

I've had Steve for around 4 or 5 years and she was 2 or 3 when I got her, so she's between 6 and 8 years of age. I had her checked by a supposedly very experienced reptile owner and it was concluded that she was a male, so I've been treating her as one for a few years now with the recommended food and supplements.

So imagine my shock when I walk into my room last night to find that she'd laid a clutch of 15 eggs! I had no idea what to do so I left her and the eggs as they were last night, unsure of whether or not I could move them or how to tell if they're fertile (she's recently been in boarding). I did some research this morning and I've been doing everything recommended (given her a bath, offered her greens with extra calcium dust, started making her a deep laying box to put in her tank, and am going out to pick up more insects as soon as my mum gets home with the car). I read that I should look for any lethargy as it would indicate a burst egg or her becoming bound. She hadn't moved from her spot from around 9 last night to 11 this morning when I got up and brought her out to bathe her, however I may be overthinking this because she's rather lazy as it is (so doesn't start moving around until around this time anyway) plus she'll be tired after laying the clutch at around 7/8 last night. When I walked over she was very interested in me and she's doing what she usually does in the bath (looking around, moving, scratching at her head with her back legs) so she seems to be pretty bright.

I have concerns about the eggs and whether or not they're fertile. We phoned the boarding this morning to make sure that there was definitely no mix up since I read that they can lay a clutch around twice a year and she'd never laid one before now when she's only been back from boarding for a couple of weeks. They said that they're 90% sure this isn't the case as they're very careful, but I also noticed her having shorter claws than she had before but I suppose that this could be from all the digging/glass dancing/running around she's been doing recently. Now I'm concerned that perhaps she's been in contact with another male and she's fertile. How long does it take for them to lay eggs after breeding? She would have had 2 to 4 weeks.

Basically, I'm writing this post because I need confirmation that I'm doing this right and any advice on what I could be doing better. I had no preparations in place for her to lay a clutch and assumed that she wasn't eating as much because she was being fussy or was ill. There were no additional supplements given and there was no laying box. It simply never occurred to me that her behaviour could be down to getting ready to lay eggs; I'd always planned on getting a male so I never did the research and I'd always been convinced that she was a male. So now I'm a little bit uncertain of what I'm doing.

Thank you for any help.

Jess.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi Jess, that would be quite a shock ! Don't be too concerned, just feed her well, keep up the calcium supplements and goof uvb. A laybox should be ready in case she lays eggs again in the future. At times beardies can become eggbound but it's not that common. None of my girls ever did, and some of them [ mated ] laid well over 30 eggs every clutch.
 

Gazoonia

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":lq1fcujb said:
Hi Jess, that would be quite a shock ! Don't be too concerned, just feed her well, keep up the calcium supplements and goof uvb. A laybox should be ready in case she lays eggs again in the future. At times beardies can become eggbound but it's not that common. None of my girls ever did, and some of them [ mated ] laid well over 30 eggs every clutch.
Hiya. I'm glad to hear that it's not too common. I'll continue to watch out for any signs of issues but it's comforting to know that it isn't too likely.

I've made a lay box out of a wash basin. I don't know if it's perfect dimension wise but it's big enough for her to dig into it and turn.
 
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