Struggling with eggs again..spay?

[lizdragon]

Hello,

Some of you may have read my posts in the past about my bearded dragon Liz who has MBD and often struggles to lay her eggs. Unfortunately she's also prone to laying many clutches of eggs (her record was 8 in a row in 2019) and it just takes such a toll on her. Right now it's been a little over two weeks since she started showing signs. Sounds really bad, but she has gone this long before. Still, I'm starting to get very worried about her so I scheduled an appointment with a specialist (Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine in NYC) this Saturday. I'm not quite sure if she is egg bound yet because she's still very active. The issue is that with her MBD she often flips on her back and has trouble flipping herself back, so I basically have to monitor her completely during the day, which is incredibly difficult to do while also taking care of a 6 month old baby. I'm constantly washing my hands (which sucks as someone who has eczema) and often once I'm done washing my hands she'll have flipped herself again. I'm so exhausted and so is she. I'm wondering if having her spayed might be a good option for us. I know it's risky, but I feel the way she struggles with laying is also risky. I would love to hear thoughts on this.

Also, is there anything I can do for her before her appointment this weekend? I'm trying to let her spend some time in her tank to get UVB before she goes in her lay box. I feel like she's so weak from being in her lay box so often. Is there a liquid calcium someone would recommend?

One thing that is hard for me to admit is I honestly feel her MBD has gotten worse over the years. I've been trying my best but she never used to struggle this much while laying and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

Tank specs:
40 gallon tank
UVB: Arcadia D3 12% UVB T5 Bulb - 22"
Basking spot: 101 degrees F
Cool side: Just checked and it's only ~75 degrees, which is too cold. Any tips? The middle of the tank is in the 80s. My apartment is kind of cool so right now I use a 100W bulb and another 100W heat bulb that does not have light to bring it to that temperature. Do you think putting a 150W bulb on the hot side and moving the 100W bulb with no light might work?
Humidity: 32%

 

[AHBD]

Aw, that's a tough time for Liz and for you. For flipping her over maybe try using a long pair of salad tongs with soft fabric wrapped around the grabber ends. That way you won't have to touch her , just the ends of the tongs that can be kept out of her tank. I think that your light adjustment would work, you can try it. And surgery could be an option if you want to take that route. Too bad some beardies lay so often like that, their bodies just can't catch a break. You might see what Tracie at www.bugdelite.com thinks about liquid calcium.

 

[hdochow]

do you think using gloves to flip her over would work?

i use tracie's liquid calcium and love it! so much easier than dealing with the powder that may or may not be eaten. we mix it with just a little bit of juice since henry loves juice and i know he will take that even on days he doesn't feel like eating. helps keep him hydrated, too. (he really doesn't get fruit much because he is getting the sugars from the juice already.) we use just the general level calcium but i know there is a second kind she has that sounded like it was more for dragons that are having issues. we also use her liquid vitamins.

 

[lizdragon]

Thank you both so much for your responses! Very helpful advice and I'm going to order some of her liquid calcium. How much do you typically give a dragon with MBD?

Oh and I have some wonderful news: Liz laid her eggs today! I am so, so happy and relieved. She ended up laying 14 eggs in her tank, and she had laid 3 previously so 17 total. She just ate a couple of worms very enthusiastically, so hopefully she's all done with this clutch.

 

[hdochow]

good to hear, that poor girl!

the calcium will come with a dosage chart that goes by weight and recommendations on how often to give it.

 

[lizdragon]

Thank you! I also wanted to ask you, which liquid vitamins do you use for your beardie? I wonder if there's anything else I should be giving her. Is there a particular flavor your beardie likes for the calcium?

Edit: never mind, I see which product you’re talking about for the liquid vitamins!

This morning I found Liz on her back. Sometimes after laying she'll act restless for some reason, but I've never had her flip when I'm sleeping (well actually it happened once, but luckily I was in the same room and woke up right away). From my camera, it seems like she was on her back for about 30 minutes, so I hope she's okay. She's sleeping right now. This is why I think I definitely need to build her calcium up, I just always worry about her flipping when I'm not there to save her.

 

[hdochow]

Thank you! I also wanted to ask you, which liquid vitamins do you use for your beardie? I wonder if there's anything else I should be giving her. Is there a particular flavor your beardie likes for the calcium?

Edit: never mind, I see which product you’re talking about for the liquid vitamins!

we use the unflavored calcium. but it gets mixed with tart cherry juice when we give it to him.