My son (WE-lol) just adopted a 4 year old female beardie this weekend. Yesterday I found two eggs in her enclosure and today I watched her lay another. She has been pawing and trying to dig so from a little research I saw that one could make a lay box with soil/sand. I did that a bit ago and put it in her enclosure and she went right to digging but didn't lay any eggs. Can anyone with experience tell me what to expect? Is the enclosure the right place to keep it? help! :dontknow: I thought it would be better for him to adopt an adult but so far I have stressed more over her than when my babies were newborns. She hasn't eaten but 1/2 blueberry, 2 nutrigrubs and 2 bites of collard greens since she got here (Saturday)
Hi there, I can understand your stress because this is a huge surprise ! Try not to be too nervous though, it's a natural process and most do just fine. Is she healthy weight and her legs + everything in good shape ? It's perfectly normal for females not to eat before laying BTW. Post some pics of her to show full body, pics of her enclosure and laybox. Here's how to post pics : https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them
AHBD Thank you! She was sleeping by the time I read your reply last night- but here are some photos from this morning. I do have a large storage bin (that would need to be outside of the enclosure) and more soil/sand that I can fill if that's better.
O.K., she needed her beauty sleep last night so I can understand that. She looks good and healthy , alert, etc. What you can do to make the laybin more inviting is to put the lid on it but cut one corner out. That way the dragon feels as if they are hidden in a cave/burrow. Most beardies have the which is instinct to be sure nothing can see where they hide their precious eggs,. This is a laybox that I had years ago for my girl with the lid :
Keep in mind that some dragons will lay their eggs anywhere outside the bin even when presented with a perfectly good laybox but most will choose the box.
She might lay them all, generally they will dig a nice deep hole and then turn around so their rear end is furthest down and their head is facing outwards. It can take 45 minutes to 2 hours at times and when they're done many will push the substrate back over the eggs. But remember, some dragons will just lay a few here + there and there's not always a way to determine why. If she doesn't choose this box after you have the lid on [ put her in it yourself and be sure she can easily get back in if she comes out at first ] you can set up the larger outside tote.
Well- I think the lid worked and she was a busy girl today Still not interested in eating though WE gave her a bath and I dripped some water near her lips and she licked it- but didn't want to drink anything else either.
That's great ! She cranked them out like a good girl. Her appetite may return quickly or take 3-4 days but mine would often eat the next day and be voracious. Anyway, glad she [ and you ] got through this O.K.