Trouble laying last few eggs?

[BrookeE]

Alrighty. So I was woken up at about 4 am by my girl, which I thought to be weird, so i checked on her and found her laying eggs. Over the course of about an hour, she laid 19 eggs and promptly began covering them up, so i assumed she was finished. Its worth noting that the last two eggs she laid were stuck together. I had her drink some water and she ate a few calcium dusted superworms. At this point i had to leave the house. When i returned home around 1 o'clock, I noticed she was trying to push more eggs out. So i kept an eye on her and she kept pushing for about an hour but nothing ever came out. suddenly she seemed to kind of give up and go to her basking spot. at this point I let her soak in a warm bath and fed her some calcium dusted crickets which she happily ate. Once she was dried off i put her back in her cage and she started trying to push the eggs out again. Its been about an hour or so of her trying and still nothing. I felt around on her belly and i do think theres a couple more in there. last time she laid 23 eggs, so i would expect possibly four more. i don't feel like she should be having trouble like this so I'm concerned that they're stuck in there and I've got an egg binding situation on my hands. How long should i give her to keep trying to get these things out on her own before seeing a vet? Any other advice?

 

[Canicke]

I have no experience with this. I am sooo sorry I cant help you. I don't think I would wait too terribly long - the stress ya know. please let us know what you do and how she does

 

[BrookeE]

I do remember that when she laid eggs last year she laid about 20 and then laid some more over night. I know its fairly common for them not to lay them all at once and it can take a day or two for them to finish the last few. Im hoping i wake up to some eggs in the morning. I just don't remember seeing her trying to push them out all day like this last time. So if none come out tomorrow i guess we will have to make a vet trip.

 

[PatsyB]

Did she lay the rest of them? I would call the vet and ask when you should start to get worried.

 

[BrookeE]

She was pretty wiped out last night and i made a last ditch effort: Had her drink some more water and gently pushed on her stomach towards her vent like when you're trying to get them to poop. And about 3 minutes after that she was finally able to get one out. She hasn't been trying to push anymore after that, and i don't feel anything else in there so I believe thats it. She happily ate some bugs this morning and I'm going to offer her some boiled egg white here in a bit. I believe the crisis is averted. Last time she had 23, and this time only 20 has come out. So it wouldn't be a huge surprise if there was a few more. So i think ill monitor her for a couple days and probably take her for X-rays to make sure they're all out. She seems tired today but not stressed.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yikes.. how is she today?? I would for sure call the vet and get that xray to make sure she's passed all the eggs.. be careful assisting her as you don't wanna rupture a egg in there causing an infection. Glad she's acting more "normal"

 

[BrookeE]

She seems to be acting much better now. Still need to get her an X-ray. And yeah i really didnt want to "assist" her at all because I didnt want to cause any harm but like it said..it was kind of a last ditch effort after a few hours of her struggling. This is why i hate the unfertilized egg thing, because i wasn't expecting it and her behavior doesn't change very much at all when she becomes gravid so Im not really able to recognize it in time to increase her calcium and stuff. Shes ALWAYS active and trying to get out of her viv and has a big appetite. Shes definitely not one of those slow/lazy beardies. Shes on the go alllll the time.

 

[BrookeE]

Well in an interesting turn of events, my lovely little girl laid a few more eggs today. And now her total is 23, which is the number i was expecting. I gave her a nice warm soak and she flattened out for me. I felt around on her belly and it sure feels empty in there. Its hard for me to tell the difference between infertile eggs and just her organs. But I am much more confident this time that shes finished. I always tend to get myself worked up and worried but this time i made myself calm down and give her some time. Looks like thats what she needed. She was going to get rid of those last few when she was good and ready on her own time. Will continue monitoring closely. Its interesting how little information is out there about these guys egg laying habits. So many articles talk about them only needing about half an hour to lay all their eggs and they are finished. But ive seen in only a few places people saying dont be surprised if she lays eggs in the next few days following the original lay. Well PSA to the forum, it can certainly be more than a 30 minute process.