HELP!! Beardie keeps laying...

[joshjack90]

I got a female beardie and she is about a year and a half. Ive had her since the beginning of summer and the previous owner informed me she does lay eggs. She laid he first clutch a month or so after i got her and it was like 12-15 eggs not sure exactly. Since then she had laid a clutch every month and a half to two months all at least 10 eggs each.

After laying a total of 56 eggs she stopped and she was very underweight from all the egg laying so i upped her food and calcium/vitamins to get her back to weight. Oh and she was around 650 grams when i first got her, after all the laying she was 350.. loss of 300 grams......... It was very scary. She had since gotten back to almost 500 grams so she was on a good road to recovery...

Just today she laid another clutch of 12 eggs and again she has lost a lot of weight.. she is down to around 400 grams its not looking too good..... I NEED HELP!! Im scared of loosing her if she keeps laying eggs and loosing weight.. Will she ever stop laying?! HELP PLEASE!!! THANK YOU!!

 

[Germ]

Do you have other BDs? If so, are they in sight of her enclosure?

 

[gilliesexotics]

Hi, do you have any pics of her next to a ruler? 650 grams is a big girl...A real big girl. That size and she is only producing 10 eggs is wild.

Normally, 350-400 grams is just about right for an average healthy adult dragon.

As germ said, can she see any male dragons?

 

[joshjack90]

Do you have other BDs? If so, are they in sight of her enclosure?

I have 5 BD's but she is in her own cage in her own room, not in any sight of any others..

 

[joshjack90]

Hi, do you have any pics of her next to a ruler? 650 grams is a big girl...A real big girl. That size and she is only producing 10 eggs is wild.

Normally, 350-400 grams is just about right for an average healthy adult dragon.

As germ said, can she see any male dragons?

yeah she is my largest BD. She is 21 1/2" maybe 22" so not your standard 18" female.. Shes a big girl. I didnt know 10-12 was a small clutch ive never had one that laid.. but she has almost laid 70 eggs in a time perioud of a few months...

 

[Charley]

Do you have other BDs? If so, are they in sight of her enclosure?

Hi Germ, how does this effect the female? I just came on this thread because I'm having a similar problem- my female won't quit laying and though she hasn't been with a male in over a year, there is a part of her enclosure which is in sight of the male's. She laid 35 eggs on 4th Dec, 4 eggs almost a weeks ago and 28 eggs this evening. Will turning the tanks help this situation? I worry about her now because she had not yet made up the weight she had lost and I really don't think she can afford to have any more eggs. Thanks in advance.

 

[Germ]

It most definitely can wear them out. Are they fertile or no?

 

[Charley]

It most definitely can wear them out. Are they fertile or no?

I assumed they would all be infertile as she hasn't been near a male in over a year.

 

[Germ]

Dinah used to lay sometimes 3 clutches a year (30-35 infertile eggs at a time) until I swapped some housing around & got Arrow (M) completely out of her sight. She then laid yearly with no other BD in sight. Another rearrangement put Sandy (F) in sight of her, the multiple clutches a year started again. Dinah was also a big dragon, 20+" 650-700+g.

The fact that she can see another BD may well be triggering the multiple egg processing cycles.

 

[Charley]

Is this a rare thing or does it happen alot- the seeing any other beardie and laying eggs? Siph's looking much better today, I put a cover over the part of the tank where she can see the male until I can rearrange enclosures so everyone can't see each other. Thanks for your help, at least I know how to avoid future unnecessary clutches!

 

[Germ]

To say that it is a common occurrence, I think would be wrong, but it does seem to affect some dragons that way, triggering a hormonal reaction or something, causing the egg processing cycle. With any luck, the rearrangement slow her down & give her a little rest.