Questions about gravid beardie

I went to the vet for my beardie in late May about because I was concerned about Mica's gout, and the vet took an x-ray while we were there. He pointed out that she appeared to be gravid, and to watch for digging behavior.

It's now August and she hasn't shown these behaviors. How long should I wait before I worry? Behavior-wise she's normal; she's always been a little lazy and likes to lay around, but when I take her out she'll still run around and be alert and energetic. She's as curious as she ever was and her appetite has been fairly good for greens. Now and then there'll be a day when she won't take even a bite, but the next day she's usually hungry again.

I haven't seen any digging behavior from her, and glass sliding has been minimal. Looking around online it sounds like beardies lay eggs about 4 to 6 weeks after breeding, but would that be the same for infertile eggs? She hasn't been around any males, so I know they wouldn't be viable.

She's 16 months old and this will be her first clutch (and mine). I have small bin I've filled with damp dirt for her, but when I put her in it, she just tries to get out and doesn't take any interest whatsoever in the soil.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Here's the x-ray that was taken on May 27th.

Hi there, your pics aren't showing. Try this :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

If she were gravid in May she would have laid them long ago. It may be that she had follicles that were reabsorbed. Once they form shells they can't be reabsorbed so there never were any shelled eggs evidently.

I'll stop worrying then! :roll: Thanks!

This is a very clear pic of a gravid dragon. I don't think all pics are this clear but you should be able to see some cloudy shapes.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTz0olk93IwnjHj-GdMyGPRarre2-FDE_wO76u6zizw5iGMyB6I_g

Wow, what a difference! Thanks for helping me figure this one out. I appreciate it!

I'm hoping someone else will chime in here, but if that x-ray was taken May 27th and those are actually eggs in the x-ray, they were huge and definitely shelled...All of that big blob-like mass would be the eggs, though it's an odd looking x-ray to me, as all of the x-rays of gravid beardies that I've ever seen show the eggs much more encapsulated. This x-ray blooms like they are all stuck together, I'm not sure how else to explain it. But either way, if they are eggs, I can't imagine that eggs that visible and developed were reabsorbed...I need someone else to double check this, because she should have laid these long ago. They don't at all look like follicles that could be reabsorbed, that's where my concern is...

Was your vet a reptile specialist, or a general or "exotics" vet? I could be wrong, but I just don't know that eggs that developed can be reabsorbed...

She may have had follicles like this dragon in the link I'm posting which did not reabsorb them. His dragon, if it had follicles, must have reabsorbed them. She would not be alive if she were carrying the same eggs if they had actually developed in May, she would either have laid them or become eggbound and died. Once they're shelled they would not take more than 4 weeks average to lay them, more like 3 weeks though.

https://hsterndvm.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/2014-04-30beardeddragonfollicularstasis.jpg
This pic is a dragon full of follicles. They can be reabsorbed, shelled eggs can't.

Were you looking at his picture Ellen or the previous one that I posted in my last reply ?

The vet may have been more general as far as exotic pets go. In my area, he was the only vet I found that sees reptiles, and from talking to him, he also confirmed that he's the vet most reptile owners take their pets to. I took her to see if she had gout, which he confirmed to me via x-ray.

As far as Mica goes, she has a little tummy, but looking at some of the other pictures of fully-pregnant beardies, she doesn't appear swollen like they do.

I edited my last post, forgot to attach the link, then it wouldn't let me, then it let me post just the pic but not the article, lol.

But yes, if your girl is acting normal she has not at all been holding any eggs from May.

Oh I'm sorry, I think I looked at the OP's broken photo link and then scrolled down too far and saw your photo of an obviously gravid beardie with shelled eggs, and it really confused me, lol. I was thinking about this for much too long yesterday, trying to figure out how she could still have those eggs since may!

No problem Ellen, it's easy to get lost in these threads or skip one or a picture or something. Happens to me often enough.

Gryphex, so how is Mica doing ? You say she's acting pretty normal ?