Bearded dragon not laying eggs! Plz help!!

[Kenleiigh]

My bearded dragon has been gravid for 6 weeks & isn’t laying her eggs, I’ve put her in her lay box for the past week as she was getting restless & digging in her tank. She’s digging but very little and once she digs her cave she comes right out of it and starts to “glass surf” in her dig box, her dig box is moist & also has her lights on top of it. I’ve tried to make a hill at one end of the lay box to encourage her to dig but nothin so far :/, it’s been 6 weeks and she hasn’t layed and I’m starting to get nervous that she’s egg bound or something else is wrong ! I can feel her eggs and I can see them but I just don’t understand why she’s not laying them… please help

 

[KarrieRee]

My bearded dragon has been gravid for 6 weeks & isn’t laying her eggs, I’ve put her in her lay box for the past week as she was getting restless & digging in her tank. She’s digging but very little and once she digs her cave she comes right out of it and starts to “glass surf” in her dig box, her dig box is moist & also has her lights on top of it. I’ve tried to make a hill at one end of the lay box to encourage her to dig but nothin so far :/, it’s been 6 weeks and she hasn’t layed and I’m starting to get nervous that she’s egg bound or something else is wrong ! I can feel her eggs and I can see them but I just don’t understand why she’s not laying them… please help

@AHBD

 

[AHBD]

Did you mate her and that's why you know she's gravid ? Because you can't always tell with infertile eggs. If she was mated, the eggs would take about 4 weeks to develop and then she would start digging. Can you post pics of her and her laybox ?

 

[Kenleiigh]

Did you mate her and that's why you know she's gravid ? Because you can't always tell with infertile eggs. If she was mated, the eggs would take about 4 weeks to develop and then she would start digging. Can you post pics of her and her laybox ?

Yes I’ll post pics tomorrow when I put her back in but, yes I mated her December 11th

 

[SPandS]

Any update?

 

[Btrfly1179]

I do not have any experience with FERTILE eggs. However my beardie lays infertile eggs every year. Usually at least 3 times a year since she was 2 or 3. It took me awhile to figure out what she likes and does not like. I came to realize that when she Glass surfs after digging a bit there is something she doesn't like and WILL NOT lay her eggs in there. It's at this time I take her out and put her either back in her home or let her roam around the house. I change a few things and put her back. She will dig again then either get to work or surf again demanding something new. Maybe try changing the substrate you have in her lay box? In mine I also put a lid from a large ziplock container on top of 2 bricks turned sideways to make a cave. I cover the lid with the substrate and she crawls under the lid between the bricks and digs herself a big cave. She also will not lay eggs more than twice in same substrate. I have to switch it out every 2 times. Sorry for long story, just giving examples of things you might want to try. She might just be finiky on where and what she lays in.

 

[Kmarshallspikesmom]

What you just explained is exactly how my beardie is acting. She has only laid 4 infertile eggs over two days. At first I thought she had prolapse but to my surprise, she was straining to lay eggs.
Last week I noticed she wasn’t eating and was pretty lethargic
The vet I took her to obviously had little to know experience with dragons and sent me home with antibiotics and actually tried to bandage her up.
I knew as soon as I saw her face that wasn’t what she needed.
When I took the bandage off sat her down. She pooped with a sigh of relief.
Fast forward to today and although she won’t eat, she is super active, not necessarily restless. I’m just really worried that she hasn’t passed more eggs

I’ll try today to set up a “lay box” (first I’ve heard of one) but I’m not sure what substrate is best. She’s lived on reptile carpet her whole life

 

[Btrfly1179]

What you just explained is exactly how my beardie is acting. She has only laid 4 infertile eggs over two days. At first I thought she had prolapse but to my surprise, she was straining to lay eggs.
Last week I noticed she wasn’t eating and was pretty lethargic
The vet I took her to obviously had little to know experience with dragons and sent me home with antibiotics and actually tried to bandage her up.
I knew as soon as I saw her face that wasn’t what she needed.
When I took the bandage off sat her down. She pooped with a sigh of relief.
Fast forward to today and although she won’t eat, she is super active, not necessarily restless. I’m just really worried that she hasn’t passed more eggs

I’ll try today to set up a “lay box” (first I’ve heard of one) but I’m not sure what substrate is best. She’s lived on reptile carpet her whole life

My beardie lays her eggs in play sand. It's the only thing she will lay them in. I have tried soil, a mixture of soil and sand) which is what I heard was recommended) but Roxy only likes sand. I also put a Tupperware lid in to start a make shift cave. Once she had a very large egg she was struggling to lay and I put her in a shallow tub with very warm water. She was able to get it out in the tub. If that helps at all.

 

[Kmarshallspikesmom]

Should the lay box be made with just calcium sand ?

 

[Btrfly1179]

I didn't have much luck with calcium sand. Every dragon is different though, you can try it. Hopefully someone who has used it replies. Just watch what color the sand is. One time I used it, it was a light orange and after Roxy was slightly orange for a few months! That's why I use play sand now. Same as you would put in a child's sandbox. I wet the sand since it needs to have the ability to pack well and not stir up dust for her to dig.

 

[SPandS]

No calcium sand, just regular play sand. I do a mix of play sand and soil with no additives. You will need to make it moist enough to hold it's shape when your girl digs a cave. There are tons of videos you can check out to help set it up. Everyone does it slightly different so check out a couple and pick something that works best for you and your girl. Do it as soon as possible though, if she has eggs that she can't lay she can become egg bound and that is deadly.

 

[diamc]

Yes I’ll post pics tomorrow when I put her back in but, yes I mated her December 11th

Did you girl lay any eggs yet? Are the substrates at least 8" deep and moist?

 

[MrsBelangerr]

Diamc, I was googling something about knowing if my beardies are wanting to fight or mate and came across a thread that you replied to (it was from 2014) I don't want to mate them, I just wanted to know what they wanted.. you mentioned to not let them see each other as it's stressful to see each other and be teased like that, regardless if it's to mate or fight. So my female loves running around the house, and we live in a very small apartment, her tank is in the living room, his in the kitchen. Mine and my son's rooms are freezing cause it's summer and the air conditioning is on, so that leaves just the living room and kitchen. I don't have a gate right now but I do want to get one to keep my dog in the opposite room as her, right now I just follow her around being sure not to get close enough to our dog. Jw how I can keep them from seeing each other? Hes a rescue and when I let him walk around he just sits in one spot or runs for cover so I don't worry about him seeing her in her tank, usually I just put him on my bed and he'll run around there but I think the floor is too open and too overwhelming for him. Would putting a blanket over the front of his tank work just while she's out?

 

[diamc]

Yes you could certainly put a blanket over the area of his while she's out & about could help. I do that with one of my adult males so he doesn't cause a big commotion.