Getting a beardie fixed...?

[StaceysBuddy]

So my Miss Buddy is a fertile myrtle!
She has never been with any other beardie. She isn't even 2 years old yet and has had 5 clutches of eggs and is now gravid again. I'm going completely nuts! I can only imagine how she feels.

My question is, has anyone ever gotten their beardie fixed? My mother in law had an iguana that ended up having to get fixed because she almost died from laying eggs. She wondered if beardies could have the same procedure done. I would imagine yes, but is it worth it? I don't want her to die from the surgery, nor do I want her to be in unnecessary pain. I can handle the egg laying but I feel awful for her. Just since the end of February she has laid 2 clutches, and gravid again! And from what I gather, this could happen every 3 weeks until the end of summer.. it's not even summer yet! (The other 3 clutches were last summer when she was barely a year old!)
It's so stressful for her and me.. she usually keeps an egg in her after laying that I have to make her poop out. Always makes me nervous that she will get egg bound. I can't afford to take her to get xrays every time she lays. I haven't before but every time I consider it if she doesn't perk up right away. Laying all these eggs can't be great for her.

So..
Anyone ever done it?
Is it possible?
What would you recommend?
Am I just over reacting...

This is kind of a rant, I guess. I love Buddy to pieces but eggs after eggs.. gets exhausting for me. Trying to take off work, she destroys her tank every day, all the calcium, it's a never ending cycle! I'm not looking at vets right now to get her fixed, just wondering other people's inputs.

 

[StaceysBuddy]

I did more and more research.. probably should have done that before posting. But I guess it's a "last resort" kind of thing. Which I agree with. Unless the clutches start to harm Buddy, I'm not going to do it. It's her natural cycle so I'll let it happen.
Did see something about a over active ovary or something... We'll see. Maybe she will stop soon. :?

 

[w0554096]

Hi there,
One of my females just laid her very first clutch of infertile eggs two days ago, and I was such a basket case I can't even imagine what you're going through!
I thought I was safe from eggs, since I got both of mine when they were around 2, and I've just finally gotten them up to help after around 9 months. I guess she was never healthy enough to produce eggs.

Can I ask..How long after each batch of eggs did it take for her to lay another one?
Also, do you have any tips of getting her back up to a healthy weight?
After she laid those eggs, it was like she got lyposuction or something, she was so skinny exhausted. So now I've been going crazy making sure she's getting enough calcium and food. I'm really hoping it's a one time thing.
I definately feel for you. Too bad there isn't a safer proceedure to have them spayed. Or even some sort of safe supplement to regulate the hormones.

 

[StaceysBuddy]

It varies on how long she takes between them. Last year she laid 3 clutches in 3 months. So once a month? I will have to go back to my thread at see what days she actually did it. But this year it started in February and it's almost April and she gravid again. So again, once a month? Seems shorter because she goes crazy for a week before she lays them and will occasionally lay an egg or two before she actually decides to lay.
Her staple is superworms. They are a bit more fatty than crickets. I dust them every time with calcium while she is gravid/post eggs. And offer her veggies everyday. I would invest in liquid calcium if you don't have any right now. After she lays she gets very thirsty, I mix her water with calcium too or vitamins (only way she will take vitamins). She will drink a lot once she's laid them. I feed her twice a day until she stops eating both times, then go back to once a day. And by that time she will usually stop eating all together to lay again.

So I use worms, water, and veggies every day.
Buddy doesn't lose a whole lot of weight but if you can, weigh her often to regulate her weight. Someone told me to try to get them a bit heavier than they were before.. maybe not their prego weight but their normal weight.

I'm not an expert, that's just my advice and what I do. But it seems to be working. I just hope it slows down. Or maybe she will skip a year next year lol. If it was 3 times last year, maybe it's 3 times this year.. just early?! One can hope.

Goodluck!

 

[w0554096]

Just curious, does it usually take your beardie a few days to bounce back after laying eggs?
This is my first time ever experiencing it, and though exhaustion makes sence after hours upon hours of digging, laying , and covering, it's been 3 full days since mine has laid her eggs and she's still sleepy and somewhat lathargic. I've upped her food, as well as bath times, and I'm just wondering if it's normal for them to take some time to regain their strength and energy..?

 

[StaceysBuddy]

Buddy usually bounces back the next day. The only time she doesn't is when she had an egg stuck in her. Not to alarm you, but has she pooped yet since laying?
All beardies probably cope with it differently. If you think something is wrong, post a thread or if you can afford it, go to a vet. If she does have an egg left in there and doesn't get it out, it's serious. But with Buddy, I just have to give her a long soak and then she poops with an egg. The egg is usually all brown and still formed, I would imagine for it to hurt to pass with her usually poop. I've had her wait to pass the extra egg for 2 days!
Hopefully it's nothing but please make sure.

 

[w0554096]

Once she was done laying and covered them and everything, I gave her a nice soak and she seemed to either be trying to poop or lay another egg, so I put her back into her lay bin and she did lay one last one. She has pooped since she layed, everything looked normal. She perked up some yesterday, so I'm thinking she was just exhausted, however if she's not back to normal in the next few days I'll get her to the vet.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Lenewen]

To answer everyone's questions, they lay eggs every four weeks for up to 7 clutches. Usually there are 20-30 eggs laid each time.

Sometimes it takes a few days for them to recover after laying. Lethargy is fairly normal provided it doesnt go on too long.

Up that calcium, bathtimes are great and offer food multiple times a day like you did when they were babies. Let em eat as much as they can so they can prepare for the next clutch. I also give my females drops of liquid calcium every other day.

I have a female whose about 450g and pregnant with her first clutch (it is fertile). This has been very stressful for her, she is tired and hungry a lot. I feed her, snuggle with her and at night, wrap her in a blanket in her hide. She puts her head under the covers too if the TV is on in the room and she doesn't want to be disturbed.

Your beardies go by instinct. Egg binding is a dangerous thing but as long as they are getting proper hydration, food and calcium, it is unlikely. They also do not always lay every egg at once. Sometimes it takes all day and sometimes a bath can really help them push the last few out.

Good luck