Egg bound beardie?? PLEASE HELP

[Beardielover32]

I have a 18 month old bearded dragon who I thought was a boy until 1 week ago. I found a found an egg in her cage. The next morning I woke up and found 33 eggs covered in her play sand. I thought she was done until a few days later.. I found another egg in her cage. The next morning I saw her wiggling around trying to push more out. She was having contractions all morning so I took her to the all animal vet hospital. They gave her an x-ray and it showed that she had two left in her. They gave her a liquid calcium with a syringe through her mouth and 2 injections of oxytocin. She didn't have anymore contraction after that.. I took her back couple of days later for a follow up. The doctor did another x-ray and an ultrasound. She said it looked like she has 3 oval shaped objects in her belly. The thing is she has her normal color, no stress marks, no black beard and she is eating. She won't touch her veggies, but chases her crickets (which I cover in calcium) in her separate feeding bin. She is all perked up right now under her basking light. The temps are perfect and I also have a uvb light on her. I don't know what to think.. I don't know if she is egg bound or just taking a bit longer to lay the last 2 or 3 eggs since she is so exhausted from pushing out the 33 other eggs. She is also drinking her water and I have been lightly rubbing her belly and giving her warm baths.. She has pooped a couple of times, but not much at all. I heard a drop of olive oil may help.. I'm not sure what to do. I'm very worried. I love her and don't want to lose her. So any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

 

[JenFid]

Hello there - I think if your girl was egg bound you would be seeing symptoms at this point, which would be lethargy and general inactivity/depression. It sounds like she is doing just fine.

My girls usually don't lay all their eggs in one go either. Once they do their big chunk of eggs, I'll find another one or 2 over the next few days.

I would keep an eye on her but unless she starts showing signs of lethargy I think you should be ok. She will either pass the eggs or re-absorb them (although I'm not sure if they can do that once they're developed to that point).

Someone else who has dealt with egg binding before feel free to chime in though if I'm incorrect!

 

[LLLReptile]

Like Jenfid said, if she was eggbound and not feeling well, you'd see more noticeable signs by now. That she is eating and running around are both great signs, so just keep doing what you are doing and keep an eye on her. Sometimes it takes a few poops and the accompanying strain to get the rest of the eggs out.

Props for having a vet to go to and get her checked out; that helps you out big time in knowing what to look for!

-Jen

 

[Beardielover32]

I gave her a warm bath a little bit ago and massaged her belly then I put her back in her cage. She was still her normal color and basking. No pushing or anything. I'm still worried. I hope she tries pushing them out soon. She has been eating a lot, but still no digging. I just hope she didn't give up. Is there anything I could do to help her? Thanks!

 

[DarkwingDork]

I know this is a late reply (and your dragon sounds like she'll be fine) but I thought I'd share a couple little tips:

First: Warm baths. It works sometimes. If she lays (and the egg looks good) get it the heck out of the water IMMEDIATELY and gently pat dry. You've only got 30 seconds (tops) before the egg gets waterlogged and will go bad so keep an eye on her!


Second: If you have a female who has an egg she just won't (or is so far developed she can't) lay you can (safely) pop it. It takes a little practice to get the egg lined up right (towards the belly area, away from the lungs) and to get a good grip on it but you can successfully pop the egg with little to no harm to the dragon. I know it sounds cruel but it's a heck of a lot better than death by impacted egg and is MUCH cheaper and less stressful than surgical removal! Use this method only as a last resort after giving her plenty of chances (and time) to lay and only when she shows signs of ill health as result of the impaction.

I've done this quite a few times with great results and they absorb the egg nicely. Trust me, I'm all about the health and happiness of my dragons...it's nowhere near as bad as it sounds.

 

[Taterbug]

Second: If you have a female who has an egg she just won't (or is so far developed she can't) lay you can (safely) pop it. It takes a little practice to get the egg lined up right (towards the belly area, away from the lungs) and to get a good grip on it but you can successfully pop the egg with little to no harm to the dragon. I know it sounds cruel but it's a heck of a lot better than death by impacted egg and is MUCH cheaper and less stressful than surgical removal! Use this method only as a last resort after giving her plenty of chances (and time) to lay and only when she shows signs of ill health as result of the impaction.

I've done this quite a few times with great results and they absorb the egg nicely. Trust me, I'm all about the health and happiness of my dragons...it's nowhere near as bad as it sounds.

Could you describe you are suggesting a little more, or link to some other description? This actually sounds rather dangerous for someone to do without the assistance/guidance of a vet.