Laying questions

[Skittles567]

Hi. I’m brand new here and will introduce myself later in a separate post. I’ve done a bit of random web searching for info on egg laying and thought I had a clue about it, but now that my girl started digging today I find I’m feeling clueless. Just fyi if it matters any, I keep chameleons and am well acquainted with their whole laying process and all. Also, I tend to talk a lot.
History: I got my girl Electra in Sept and was told that she had laid a clutch of 11 (infertile) eggs on Aug 22 without problems. She was quite thin when I got her except for a low hanging belly of what seemed like loose skin. With proper diet and all, she slowly started to gain weight and her protruding hips were getting a nice fleshy cover. She’s always been a ravenous eater for me and totally devours her salads (unlike my picky male) and of course, her buggies. I have noticed her sides starting to look and feel lumpy when she pancakes but not sure if it’s eggs or ribs. However, her weight has taken a big jump up of 50 Gm in 1 month. About a week or so ago, her appetite started decreasing and some days she barely eats her salad. Still will eat her bugs though.
As she has been in a smaller enclosure, I haven’t had the space for a proper lay bin in it. Her upgrade is a work in progress at current. I placed a small bin with some moist sand in her enclosure and have been watching for signs of digging. I figured once she starts digging in that, I’ll know she’s ready to go into a proper lay bin. She’s gone in/out of that bin lots since I put it in, but never dug at all until this morning. She went to town in it and dug at least half of it and then went and frantically ‘dug’ at her glass and shelf liner floor. I got her lay bin prepared and placed her in it with her basking bulb. It’s bug feeding day, so I gave her a few crickets which she ate without hesitation. I’ve got her in her bin closed in a bathroom so she has privacy. I’ve peeked at her a couple of times and so far the only movement she’s making is jumping in attempts to escape the bin (which she can’t do).
So after all of these words, I need to know if I’m doing this correctly or not. It feels odd leaving my girl in a giant bucket of moist dirt all day. Should I take her out at night and let her sleep in her clean dry enclosure? Please advise.

 

[Austinnnnn23]

When i used to have my female bearded dragon she was on coconut substrate (this was in the past when it wasn’t that terrible to keep beardies on loose substrate i keep all mine on carpet now) anyways she just kinda layed them when she was ready and i’m sure that yours will do the same if her appetite is decreased except for bugs that means that she’s close to laying but it will come when she’s ready i would use dry sand in my opinion so it’s easier for her to dig and she doesn’t have to work as hard to move the sand hope this helps!

 

[Skittles567]

When i used to have my female bearded dragon she was on coconut substrate (this was in the past when it wasn’t that terrible to keep beardies on loose substrate i keep all mine on carpet now) anyways she just kinda layed them when she was ready and i’m sure that yours will do the same if her appetite is decreased except for bugs that means that she’s close to laying but it will come when she’s ready i would use dry sand in my opinion so it’s easier for her to dig and she doesn’t have to work as hard to move the sand hope this helps!

Thank you for your reply. How deep was your substrate? The info I found on lay bins for beardies all said they need to be at least 6” deep, so that is what I’ve provided. She was kept on about 1-2” of sand in her previous home and is what I assume she laid her eggs on. I can’t afford to risk egg-binding so am trying to do everything correct and by the book for her.

 

[KarrieRee]

Thank you for your reply. How deep was your substrate? The info I found on lay bins for beardies all said they need to be at least 6” deep, so that is what I’ve provided. She was kept on about 1-2” of sand in her previous home and is what I assume she laid her eggs on. I can’t afford to risk egg-binding so am trying to do everything correct and by the book for her.

We need ahbd to help you
@AHBD

 

[Skittles567]

We need ahbd to help you
@AHBD

I’ll take all the advice I can get. Thank you!

 

[AHBD]

They can be picky and drive us crazy at laying time so that's about normal. She very well may lay them in her small laybox that you put in the enclosure. Can you post a pic of it ? And no, don't leave her in the big box overnight. Some dragons will lay anywhere in their tank but seem confused when put in a separate laybox but then they might just get to it a day later. The bigger box might be accepted if you put a lot more substrate in it, pack it deep on one side and start a hole for her or put a shoebox over the sand like a cave, with one end cut off to e the entrance.

 

[Skittles567]

They can be picky and drive us crazy at laying time so that's about normal. She very well may lay them in her small laybox that you put in the enclosure. Can you post a pic of it ? And no, don't leave her in the big box overnight. Some dragons will lay anywhere in their tank but seem confused when put in a separate laybox but then they might just get to it a day later. The bigger box might be accepted if you put a lot more substrate in it, pack it deep on one side and start a hole for her or put a shoebox over the sand like a cave, with one end cut off to e the entrance.

Thanks so much for responding. I had put her back in her tank for sleep already. She spent the day in the special lay bin and didn’t dig anything at all. It does have a good amount of play sand/organic soil mix in it and I made it so it had a deep dip at the middle. I had to use some of the sand from the small bin I had in her tank in the big bin. I’ve had a thought to see if I have a taller small bin that I can put in her tank and cut a hole in the side for her to access it as she needs/wants. Would either of the ones in the below pics work do you think? Snout to vent she’s not even 8.5“ long. I’m not sure if beardies need the absolute privacy that chameleons need in order to feel comfortable enough to lay their eggs.

 

[AHBD]

Yes, either one of those but get one that's not see through if you can. Put more sand than what you had in the other tote. They like a lot. Cut a hole in the side but make it about 5-6" up from the bottom so the sand doesn't get kicked out. You can put a rock or log as a step up to the hole if need be or just put her in.

 

[Skittles567]

Ok, will do! Again, thanks so much. I’ll update this once she lays.

 

[Austinnnnn23]

Thank you for your reply. How deep was your substrate? The info I found on lay bins for beardies all said they need to be at least 6” deep, so that is what I’ve provided. She was kept on about 1-2” of sand in her previous home and is what I assume she laid her eggs on. I can’t afford to risk egg-binding so am trying to do everything correct and by the book for her.

If i remember i would probably say 2-3 inches and that was it.