Female not eating!!!!

[midwestreptiles]

So here is the deal my female just laid 10 nice big fertile eggs about 18 days ago. The day after she laid i left for out of town for two weeks. And i had my girlfriend feed my beardies while i was gone. When i returned there was another little dried up egg in the cage? I went to feed them and the male ate but she refused. So i felt her and coudlnt feel any eggs so i put her in a bath to see if i could and i couldnt, i retured later and there was another little egg in the water? So i placed her in her lay box for awhile and she did nothing and laid no more eggs. So im having a hard time determining if the two eggs were left from her last clutch or are from an up and coming one based on there size? I keep her and her male in a 75 with tones of UV light and heat with a hot spot of 110 and clean water etc... I feed greens oneday, insects the next and then mice the other everyday of the weeks so they are well fed? Why is she refusing food?

Thanks, any thoughts will help greatly

 

[Tigg]

How old are both of your beardies?
How long have they been housed together?

I am going to go out on a limb here and say you female is most likely stressed out... either from over breeding and the extreme toll it takes on the females body, or simply from being housed in a small enclosure with another dragon.

Reccomended living space for a single full grown adult beardie is in a 4x2x2 foot enclosure... Last time I checked that was roughly 120 gallons?

75g is too small for 2 adult beardies... Not to mention the dominance issues that they have which are most times unnoticed by the human eye until it is too late.

If you plan on breeding then you should only bring your 2 beardies together to mate, other than that they should not even know of each others existance. They are solitary animals in the wild.

 

[midwestreptiles]

I have only had her and the male for about a month and they have been together since i am breeding them stress couldbe it and i think thats it the male has been trying to breed alot with her. The guy i got them fromwas housing them together all the time. I did remove him the other day and i put some greens in today and it looked like she ate some but not much. Also i have read that year round housing is not bad? A local pet store where i live has all her females together year round with one male and huge cages. And they are all healthy and lay lots of clutches and eat lots? I dont know i do have a 110gallon sittin around i might jus leave her alone for now see how things go and then put her and another female in there? also i think she is 2.5yrs old

Thanks

 

[Tigg]

Whether you house males with females, males with males, or females with females... They will establish a hierarchy right away, and the less dominant beardie will suffer...

maybe by missing out on a little food because the more dominant beardie is still hungry, or because the less dominant beardie is not able to bask because the alpha beardie won't let her. It's kind of like you being locked in a small room with a big scare person who constantly does things to remind you how big and scary they are. This is not a very good life if you ask me.

In the wild, beardie live alone. they come together to mate, and they move on. the mothers will even eat her own young.

I can assure you that your bardies will not get lonely, in fact they will live much happier lives and THRIVE the way they should in captivity... Loneliness is only a warm blooded emotion.

I should also mention that you risk not being there to break up a spat that may arise between the 2 while at work, or while sleeping... and you could come home to a very injured, impaled or even a dead pet. Why put them through that?

As for breeding, It plays a very large toll on the females body and due to this, females in captivity that have been "Over bred" have been known to live significantly shorter lives.

Please don't just take my word on this, do some more research, even do a search in the ER or health sections and you will come across many stories from other owners who have lost their beloved pet due to this.

Hopefully you will make the choice that is right for your beardies.

 

[midwestreptiles]

Since i only have my 110 and two 75's right now i might just house my females together in the 110. so they can get a break from the males. and just place them with the males for brief periods to breed then remove them. Also once bred i know they can retain sperm but to ensure best fertility how many times a year would you reccomend placing the female with the male?

thanks again

 

[Tigg]

I am a little concerned here considering the questions you are asking, and the scale of breeding it sounds like you have already started... I don't think you are ready for this quite yet, nor do I think you have weighed the cost of this hobby.

I would strongly suggest you take some time to research the species, their habits, and THEIR true needs before you go any further.

Each time you breed a female you could be potentially cutting years off her life, especially if you don't know what you are doing. And to answer your question about how often to breed... there is no real answer. After laying a clutch the female needs to be properly rehabilitated back to health, this could take days, weeks, months, and some times they never regain their strength.

 

[midwestreptiles]

it was a simple question to get your opinion! i have been breeding leopard geckos for 6 years now, as well as reticulated, burmese and ball pythons as well as hundreds of crested geckos, blue tounge skinks, savannah monitors, timor monitors. i think bearded dragons are not that difficult i just wanted your opinion and maybe how u breed if u do at all. I have two pairs of nice breardies that have never been bred before so i doubt im over breeding that have been bred once, one female just laid her first clutch the other is with her male after being seperated for a week or so. And before i did anything i cooled them for 3 months just to try the method out and i wanted to know how many times during the breeding season i should place her with the male to ensure best fertility? Duh. thanks for your opinions but if you going to prejudge me please dont help at all