questions about unfertilized eggs

[GialovesOllie]

Hello! Thanks for taking time to read my question!!

Ok, so my bearded Olive {Ollie} is 7 months old now! She is inbetween 17-20 inches long. She has had no health issues or atleast no major ones. She has NEVER been to the vet and I most likely won't take her unless it is a life or death situation. Ok so she hasn't been pooping everyday. Today she didn't. I had her out and she kept lifting her tail like she had to poop! I hope you know what I mean. You know like RIGHT before they poop they bend or move their tail in a certain way. Well she did that several times out of her cage and she didn't go or anything. Now she is resting on my desk and she like stretch all of her limbs and move or bent her tail in that "certain" before pooping way. I don't really understand. What age do females start laying unfertilized eggs? How often do they lay them? How many is the healthy amount? How do I know when she will lay unfertilized eggs? How do I prepare her?She is my very FIRST beardie. I don't want her to pass away because of egg-bound. Thanks! I hope you can help!

Just a worried mommy! :?

 

[BeardedDragonCo]

When females are receptive and in the mood to breed, they will do what we call tail popping. She could easily be reaching sexual maturity if she is that big, so don't let her around any males. lol Receptive females will also eat more than usual to put on extra fat and may act somewhat restless. I would not worry unless she seems to be straining or if something seems seriously wrong. Bigger dragons don't always poop every day, but it should be regular to fit her metabolism. I've also seen dragons do this and only excrete a tiny amount of urate or excess fluid, this seems more common in older females that don't eat a lot on a daily basis.

On another note, if she is cycling her eggs now or does because of sexual maturity, she may possibly lay some infertile eggs in the weeks to come. Just remember, before a female lays, she stops eating for 3 days to a week before hand and becomes super restless, then stays super bright and starts scratching for a place to dig. If you see this behavior, then you can probably expect an infertile clutch soon.

 

[GialovesOllie]

Thank you so much! I have been waiting for an answer for days! I understand that my baby is going through "puberty" aha! Thanks again!