Going to lay eggs again!! Is this normal??

[TracyA]

Hi All.
I wasn't sure whether this belongs in the Breeding section or the Behavior. It's not breeding because there's no male involved.

We got Stella in Dec, the other owners thought she was a boy. (We thought she was a girl and renamed her.)
All doubt was removed when she laid eggs at the beginning of April. .. 2 clutches.. one clutch of 7 and then 19 about five days after. (She'd been acting nuts for a week and we didn't know why).. She'd barely recovered and the cycle began again.. the crazy behavior for a week.. followed by 2 eggs then 23 eggs a few days after. Again, only recovered a week or so and now she's getting ready to lay again.
This is crazy. She's cycling a "heat" (or whatever you call it in reptiles?) constantly with only about a week of recovery between. How many times will this continue? Is this normal? She's completely destroyed the plexiglass front of her viv from scratching it up, trying to get out to find a mate.. Every time she poops it's ALL over the entire viv because she's running all through it trying to get out of the cage. So then I have to not only clean the whole viv but give her a bath as well. It's a half hour chore every time she poops and then hearing her go nuts all day long trying to jump and scratch out of the cage. I expect now in the next day or two she will start burrowing again, to prepare to lay again.
This isn't going to go on forever is it? Or is it just a spring season thing?

 

[kcarello]

Did you make a lay box for her? Usually that is why they are scratching to get out, to find a place to lay they're eggs.

 

[TracyA]

Yeah she's got a little cave with sand she lays her eggs in... I fill it with sand (the rest of the viv has tile) .. she digs around inside to prepare it... kicks a lot of the sand out, then lays her eggs, and kicks all the sand back inside to bury them ..
When she scratches and glass-dancing, she's wants to get out to find a mate. She'll go to the window and scratch and head-bob. Back in the cage to burrow and scratch.. repeat.
She did lay eggs just tonight .. only 10 so I'm not sure if she'll have another clutch. I think I feel more in there. Not sure.. The other 2 lays had two clutches in each ... She's now had 3 lays in 2 months.
I'm just concerned that if she's doing this so often she'll have a shorter lifespan.... because it has to be exhausting for her. .. and nutritionally as well, because she completely stops eating for 3-4 days before she lays. During that stage I cannot get her to eat anything, even crickets and mealworms which normally she'd be jumping all over them.

Since first of April: a week of climbing the walls trying to get out, and stops eating. laid 7 eggs, a few days later, laid 19 more. .. Appetite and mood normal for about 2 weeks.. Then same pattern, laid 2 eggs, a few days later laid 23 more. .. appetite and mood normal for 2 weeks.. Then cycle again, and just tonight laid 10 eggs. .. I think she'll probably lay some more in a few days. As soon as she laid tonight she came out of the cave kicked and buried for a while and then she started eating. .. so that was good to see. .. But she's doing the scratching and burying so much she has a few nails that have been filed down to nothing. And one she broke off.

So my question is ... is it normal to be going through this cycle so often? and is this just a spring thing? My husband thinks we should get her a male and start making some cash!

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

How old is Stella? I would really recommend PMing Deb (sweetiepie9) to ask about your situation. She's had a lot of experience with this kind of thing.

My husband thinks we should get her a male and start making some cash!

Not sure if you were just joking or not, but I hope so. Breeding dragons is a full-on job, not a side hobby. It takes a ton of research, time, effort, space, and money to breed them. One baby dragon eats at least 30 crickets a day. A female dragon can lay up to 4 clutches from one mating session. Can you imagine over 100 babies? You would need a separate tank with separate lights for each one of them by the time they're 6 weeks old. That's 20,000 crickets per week. Can you imagine the electric bill, the vet bill, trying to find homes for allll those babies? Think of all that poo to clean up, all those baths, all those feedings, all those tank set-ups, etc...

Not trying to harp on you (especially if you were just kidding hehe) but check out this thread viewtopic.php?f=4&t=126455&start=60 By all means though, if you have a ton of spare time, space, money, and expertise then go for it. I would totally breed dragons if I ever won the lottery lol. Most breeders don't turn a profit until they've invested several years and several thousands of dollars.

Best of luck to you in your situation, sorry I can't help more but I'm almost positive Deb will be able to!

 

[TracyA]

LOL yes I was absolutely joking ... I knew it would be a whole lot of work.. (I didn't imagine it being THAT much work and that much cash tho..!) regardless, no, I don't want to go that route at all.
She's about 2.5 yrs old. .. I say "about" because we aren't her original owners .. we got her in Dec and the other owners said she was "about" 2. ... They also thought she was a boy. We thought she looked like a girl so we renamed her Stella. Obviously we were right!

She seems to be done laying this time.. only 1 clutch of 13. .. Just started getting her appetite back 2 days ago. I fed her a hornworm for the first time .. omg I was soooo grossed out, my son as well. .. But she loved it so next time I give her one I'm just going to drop it in there and run away LOL .. clean up the guts later. Yeah I know that has nothing to do with the thread. but anyway, I was very pleased to see her finally eating so well (1 hornworm and 12 large crickets, plus all her regular greens and dragon-food as well!) since she hadn't eaten more than a bite or two in almost a week.

ok I'll pm Deb and ask..
Thanks for the advice to contact her.. that's help!
T.

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

Lol yeah I figured you were just kidding, but you never know with some people around here so I had to flash the *warning signal* just to be safe hehe. We see way too much of, "What?! I can't haz 2 dragons & iguana in same 10gal tank on walnut shells and feed them iceberg lettuce w/mealworms??? Whhhyyyy?" Haha I'm sure you'll see what I mean when you've been here long enough, if you haven't already.

Anyway, I wish the best for you and your dragon girl. I know all that egg laying is very hard on their systems, so just make sure she's getting some extra care and attention through all of this. She'll be needing extra calcium (preferably liquid, like here >>> http://www.beardeddragons.co/beardeddragon/index.php?route=product/product&path=61&product_id=56 or at a drugstore). Dragons are notorious for getting sand/debris in their eyes, especially after all the burrowing and burying that comes with egg laying. Always give her a warm bath and try to feed her a large meal of nutritious greens right after she's done laying & burying. I'm sure Deb will get back to you soon to go over the details about whether or not this much egg laying is normal and what you should do about it. Good luck!

 

[spikeysmom]

We too were surprised by a clutch yesterday. I really thought our Easter batch of eggs would be it for the year and when we woke up to more eggs yesterday we were really shocked. It's so surprising to me that female beardies can lay four clutches in a year. Poor things.

 

[beardie parents]

It seems to me, from my reading not my experience, but what you call 2 clutches is really one. Last year our girl, Rosie, laid 22 eggs at once, then not again. This year she didn't lay at once she laid one egg here then 2 another time for a total of about 5 eggs so far. Most of the clutches I've read about are any where from 22 or so to 37, I just read about earlier this morning. It seems like your beardie lays one clutch over a period of a day or two which is normal also. I would go to Tracie's site: http://www.bug-de-lite.com/ and order some liquid calcium, she has two or three different kinds. You can pm her (drache613 is her screen name) and ask her which would be better for your girl. Don't wonder about the former owners thinking she's a male, that happens a lot! even from experienced beardie owners, until they lay eggs.

 

[diamc]

Moved here from the Behavior forum since it is about eggs. If someone else was going through something similar, this is the area that they would look for help so best to have it here.