Infertile eggs

[TracyA]

Hi All...
Stella is laying eggs right now as we speak.. About a week or so ago she laid 7 (her first time). Just now she has laid 9 so far but they're still coming. After the first laying a week ago, we bought some sand (her viv just has tile) and put it in a cave for her to burrow. So today she was just burrowing in a corner, a corner that didn't have sand, turned around and started laying her eggs there. Should I move some sand over into that corner so she can bury them? or should I just remove them immediately?
How long will she do this and how often? I'm concerned that she hasn't eaten much at all in 2 weeks.
How many eggs would be a normal number to lay in a clutch? Is that amount the same whether they are fertile or infertile?

(My kids want to paint them for Easter. LOL. )

 

[Claudiusx]

If she is already laying the eggs I wouldn't worry about moving sand there or moving her. You don't want to disturb her, just let her lay her eggs.

As far as numbers in clutches, there really isn't a normal IME. There is a wide range in numbers of eggs.

-Brandon

 

[TracyA]

Hi,
Well she finished laying all her eggs, 17 in all, (this was yesterday) and she found every bit of sand in the viv and managed to push it all into that corner and bury them. Once they were all buried, I removed them (not really sure how long I was supposed to keep them there.) Now.. she's exhausted, still not eating... looks terrible all black and weak and wrinkly and sleepy.
Is this normal? How long before she recovers? At what point should I be worried? What, if anything, can I do to help her recover more quickly?

 

[diamc]

It's very exhausting for them to lay eggs. Be sure to give her a nice long bath as they get dehydrated. If she won't eat any feeders, you could pick up some chicken and squash baby food, add some calcium to that and put drops on her nose for her to lick off. Had you doubled up on the calcium before she starting laying?

If she doesn't brighten up by tomorrow, that could be concerning. It's normal for them to look thin and be tired for a few days but the fact that she is black in color is very concerning. Keep a close eye on her and if she gets worse or she seems to be straining without laying any eggs, get her to a vet right away because those are signs that she is having trouble laying an egg or could be egg bound.

 

[TracyA]

Thanks for your reply ...
Well her being black isn't really that much concern because she does change colour every day pretty dramatically; she is normally very dark every morning when she's warming up, and also every time she lays in the sunshine. She will normally vary from very dark to light peach/almost white, every day. So, being that dark is normal for her, however not for this long. Her stress marks are very prominent though right now. She is quite weak and we had to actually place her on her basking spot. (She's standing up tall though, but kind of sleeping/standing).

She looks a little better now, as we've managed to hand-feed her maybe 5 pellets of the Rep-Cal food, (her regular diet together with greens). They are already fortified but I sprinkled some calcium powder on them as well. We're keeping her hydrated; my son is soaking her in the bath again right now.. (last night she did drink a lot in the bath... that's the only time she ever drinks.. she dunks her head right under... yeah she's part chameleon, part fish )
He said he can't feel any more eggs in there. No we didn't give her calcium before the eggs because we didn't know.. she's never laid eggs before. (we weren't even sure if she was a boy) .. Last week she laid 7 and we thought that was it.. and then she laid another 17.

Unfortunately it's Easter Sunday and most stores are closed, to get baby food. I know of one open store that might sell it but if they do the selection will be limited. If she is not continuing to improve I'll go see what they have.
I'll post back later with status..

 

[diamc]

Poor girl, she must have been quite weak if she couldn't make it to her basking spot on her own. She needs LOTS of protein right now, the pellets won't give her what she needs to help restore all the weight she has lost. Will she eat crickets or any other live feeders? She won't bounce back quickly at all if she doesn't get the much needed protein from feeders. You can supplement the baby food in between. I wouldn't wait much longer before getting the protein into her. Her laying 26 eggs has taken all the nutrients, etc from her body. I'm confused as to what you meant about "we've managed to hand-feed her maybe 5 pellets of the Rep-Cal food, (her regular diet together with greens). How many live feeders had she been getting in a wk? What greens are you feeding her?

What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using? What brand & type of UVB do you have, what is the distance of it and how old is the bulb? In order for her to be able to get healthy again. we want to make sure everything is perfect for her.

 

[spikeysmom]

I'm so glad you posted this because I'm going through the same thing right now. We woke up to a post Easter surprise this morning. Spikey, whom I'd suspected was maybe a female but my son had always wanted to be male, layed 19 or so eggs over the course of the night and early morning. There were none when I put Chase to bed last night. He (now she) hasn't really been eating much at all for a couple weeks and I assumed it was brumation but I guess it was her getting ready to lay eggs. I will go get some baby food to give her and add calcium to it. Thanks for the tips.

 

[TracyA]

Well I feel less worried today.
This morning she enthusiastically ate 18 crickets and 50 mealworms. Hasn't touched the other food but that's ok.. The kids gave her a bath right afterward so she gets hydrated.
To answer your question about her diet, our vet recommends the commercial foods because they are nutritionally balanced with exactly what they need. He also says as adults they should have 90/10 greens/crickets whereas it's the opposite for babies and juvenile dragons it's 10/90. ... so therefore, daily she gets the pellets mixed in with greens, (I alternate usually between dandelion and collards and mix in carrot tops as well.) Often splashed with apple juice, or a little bit of fruit mixed in there too. (trust me she's spoiled rotten)
**edit>>she also gets 18-20 crickets about once a week

Basking temp is around 106, I use a probe thermometer. UVB bulb is only a couple of months old and it's a 10.0 Repti-Sun. .. All is good.

When I get to the grocery store later I'll get some baby food anyway, and if she doesn't take it from me I will mix it into her greens.

Thanks for your advice!

Oh how often can we expect this to happen? Is it going to be a regular thing?
This is nerve-wracking, I hope it's not too often!

 

[spikeysmom]

That's great that she ate so much today. I hope I can get Spikie (or Spikette :wink: ) to eat soon. I was able to her to drink a ton so at least I know she won't be dehydrated.

 

[TracyA]

Oh when I answered the question about her diet of pellets and greens I forgot to mention she also gets crickets once a week or so. I usually buy 18.

Yes try the crickets and mealworms on Spikey. Keep up those baths to keep her hydrated.
Stella is still tired and weak but her personality is looking a little bit better. It came right back when she saw those crickets and was biting at the bag while I was trying to get them out.

Post back here to let us know how Spikey is doing in a day or two.

 

[spikeysmom]

I just tried feeding her baby food and it was a hit. She lapped up the chicken/sweet potato/calcium combo I gave her. I can't believe I'm back to buying baby food again!

I thought I'd share the photos I took today. Here's a pic from first thing this morning when we found her and all her eggies.

And after she buried them.

WOW I just removed the eggs from the terrarium and she laid 30 of them today! Poor thing.