I think my Bearded Dragon is prego and not sure what to do?!

[cherylsjsquad]

We have had a male bearded dragon that is 2 years old (guessing, 18inches long) and got a female a couple weeks ago about the same age (14 inches long). They went through the whole mating process and now I think she is pregnant becuase she started digging holes in her cage and has bumps along the sides of her stomach. I have been trying to look up what we are supposed to do but I am nervous we will mess this up. They are in seperate cages and have UVB lights. How do I know how long she has to go? I saw I was supposed to put something in for her to lay the eggs in and then remove them afterward. I am not even sure what to do when they hatch? This was all a bit of a surprise and I feel totally unprepared

 

[AHBD]

Check some of the other threads, 2 of them that may be helpful are " pregnant beardie " and one further down " Please respond me ASAP....some helpful info in each. A small female should not be bred, but now you must feed her like crazy and keep her away from the male.

 

[melissa102787]

If you can see the eggs and she is digging frantically, she is probably ready or just about. You NEED to give her a place to lay her eggs. Buy some potting soil or another substrate that can hold moisture and shape. Make a lay in a plastic tote bin. Make sure it is at least 12" deep. You can even try starting a hole for her. Make sure there is a heat source on her too. Let her spend the day in there. Sometimes, they are really finicky about where they lay, I have had to make special places for them to lay inside their tank because they refused the bins.

Once she lays them, you have to decide what you want to do with the eggs. If you don't want a whole bunch of babies, put them in the feeezer. It sounds cruel but baby dragons are A LOT of work. They need to be fed 2-3X a day and can easily eat 50-70 crickets a day EACH. You also have to keep them hydrated by misting a couple times a day. The will nip off the tails and toes of the tank mates sometimes, so you have to be ready to separate the larger babies or more dominate babies.

Also, bearded's can retain sperm and lay 3-4 clutches from a mating...

If you DO decide to keep the babies... The eggs cannot be turned. They have to stay in the position they were laid. If this is her first clutch, then they may not be fertile and some might just fail to thrive. They need an incubator high humidity. You can use potting soil( I sterilize it in the microwave) or vermiculite if you can find it in a plastic tupperware container. Get the substrate moist, make indents in it, place the eggs in it with out turning them. Put a lid on the tupperware with small holes for ventilation, then place them in the incubator. You can usually tell by a week or two which ones are good or not good.

I definitely think you should read up online as much as you can about all of it. It will help a lot knowing what to do. There is a lot of info out there.

 

[AHBD]

Excellent post by Melissa....I was too lazy to do all that writing. One thing about egg position...you can reposition them with no problems if you get them within a few hours of laying....some are layed even on their ends, and I always place all of them lengthwise. By the way, no need ever to put eggs in the freezer to kill them,very unhygienic] just put them in a plastic bag, drizzle some water, and close the bag and toss. The water kills them just like freezing. In cold weather, just toss them out, none will develop in the cold.

 

[cherylsjsquad]

Thank you all so much for the reply. I have been working around the clock going to pet stores and reading up on the internet about how to do this. Starting last night she has been acting weird. She in her food dish standing up against the glass and was still there when I woke up this morning. I made the lay box for her and placed it in her cage so that she can go in and out. When I moved her into it this morning she was cold and didn't really move around much. Her cage is 85 on one side and the calcium light is on the other. I put a load of laundry in and when I came to look at her again she was back in the same spot, standing on her back legs with the front on the glass?! I know she can't be that far along becuase we have only had her for 3 weeks. We do see the marbles on both of her sides though and she has now completly stopped eating. Should I be worried?

 

[AHBD]

Once they stop eating they are ready to lay. So she needs her lay box right away. A very tiny female like her can develop complications because they are usually not ready to handle egg production while still growing. Some become weak and eggbound...hopefully that won't happen. Be sure to give her water, I use a spray bottle to gently spray a stream near the tip of the nose for drinking. Some people give a warm bath that she can drink from [ about 2" deep] and sometimes the dragon will try to have a b.m and an egg will pop out. Also....do you have a hot spot about 15-110F ? The " calcium" light [ UVB] should be on the same side. The cool end of the cage should be around 80.

 

[cherylsjsquad]

OK, so she is now digging like crazy and I have not yet completed the incubator. I have sprayed her and have a shallow bath in the cage for her. The lay box is a large tuppaware container that has a lid. What do I wait for, how do I know when to take the box out? Also Is there some way to use the box I have as an incubator, I do have extra heat lamps. I was wrong about a couple things, my husband informed me that the cage is 120 on one side and 80 on the other, also she is 16 inches long. Sorry, new at this Wasn't expecting to be a grandma so young LOL Thanks again for the input!!

 

[melissa102787]

You will be able to tell after she has laid her eggs, she will look deflated. She will also spend a lot of time covering the eggs and packing it down. I don't take any of my girls out until they are completely finished with their "nest". After they are done, I give them a bath and offer some food. They are usually tired and just want to relax, some are hungry. Make sure you give her extra calcium probably for the whole spring/summer. Making eggs takes a lot out of them. And she might lay a few more times in the next few months.

You might be able to make the box into an incubator, but that might be difficult... You would have to keep the temp exactly where the eggs are approx. 82-87 degrees. Never higher than 88-89, high temps will kill them. I have heard of eggs hatching at room temp, but it takes a lot longer. The important thing is keeping the substrate moist(not drenched though). If the eggs dry out they start to dent.

I have never hatched eggs NOT in a container with a lid( like tupperware, deli cups). My very first time dealing with eggs they did not make it. I had no idea the female was pregnant until LAST minute( my dad's beardie). I had no idea how long she had been ready( I live an hour away and was visiting), but as soon as I gave her something to lay in, she went right to it. She laid around 20 eggs and I tried putting them into a critter carrier with soil and a heater until I could get an incubator... I took a week and they were starting to dent, even with misting them occasionally. After I bought the hatch rite( something made just for reptiles eggs) and incubator, I put them directly into it. The problem was the humidity. I never was able to keep it high and it was too late before I figured it out, I need to put them in containers with moisture and lids. The whole incubator is hard to control humidity in.... I didn't have internet access at the time

 

[AHBD]

If the eggs ever do began to sink in, looking dry, be sure to only add water to the substrate. If the substrate is dry, the eggs are dry. Even that Hatchrite will sometimes dry out [ I've never used it, a friend has ] And never spray the eggs directly....this generally kills them.

 

[cherylsjsquad]

So i just got home and she is in there with dirt all over her face packing down the dirt. She laid eggs in the corner of the container because it is a clear container so I was able to see. Is there some place I can get this incubator? I went to pet smart and they don't sell them. How long can I keep them in there before it's to late?

 

[AHBD]

A quick home-made incubator can be an old refrigerator with a very small [ 25-40 watt] bulb in it. Another kind is to get a fish tank or cooler that doesn't leak. Get a tank heater that you would use for fish, place it in the bottom with enough water to cover, add some bricks ,and set your plastic tubs that the eggs are in on top of bricks. Set the temp. so that the air temp. gets to about 82. Use a couple of cheap garden center thermometers, placed on top of the containers to watch the temp. Set your eggs up like Melissa said in her last post.This should be done before on a sort trial basis until you can get the temps. right. You may need the lid on to keep more heat in,,,,but you would have to experiment.

 

[AHBD]

Another way would be to somehow rig a lightbulb itself in the cooler or aquarium. The cooler will get MUCH warmer because it's insulated, the fish tank could also work, but you might have to cover it to keep heat in.

 

[melissa102787]

You can try buying one of those styrofoam coolers, or buying some styrofoam and cutting it to make insulation or a little box maybe? It will hold the heat well. Just be careful if you live in a warm place, then you will be working on keeping the temp down as well as up.

You would probably need to go to a local small shop to find an incubator(preferably one that has exotics, you can call around). Or a feed store? Chicken incubators work fine too.

 

[cherylsjsquad]

I just went to the pet store and got a styrofoam cooler box that they get fish delivered in. As I was talking to him I started thinking about the first time that I had put our 2 lizards together. That was only on March 10th, so how did she just lay eggs now??? Is this possible? :?:

 

[melissa102787]

I just went to the pet store and got a styrofoam cooler box that they get fish delivered in. As I was talking to him I started thinking about the first time that I had put our 2 lizards together. That was only on March 10th, so how did she just lay eggs now??? Is this possible? :?:

Female dragons can have eggs with out being with a male. And lay them.
They can be carrying them and if they happen to get sperm at any point, it can fertilize the egg follicles. I'm not 100% on that but I'm fairly certain.

Did she happen to be with another male before you got her?