Gypsy Laid Eggs Then Ate Most of Them!

[Bob21801]

First let me say I'm pretty new to caring for Bearded Dragons. I have a couple that are less than 6 months old, and an adult female (Gypsy) that I got about 6 weeks ago from a guy on Criagslist. (He named "him" Spike. I was pretty sure she was a female and re-named her Gypsy. Apparently I was right) I was surprised today when I came home to find Gypsy laying eggs. They couldn't be fertile because she lives alone. It looked like she had about 17 of them. Is this an unusually big number?? And I didn't even realize she was carrying eggs. Anyway, I was checking on her off and on and after she finished laying she turned around and started eating them!! I let her do what she wanted, knowing they eggs aren't fertile. She ended up eating all but 7. After a bit she started kicking up sand, and whatever she could to try to cover the rest. I'm assuming this is her first clutch of eggs, as the other guy thought she was male, so apparently he and his family never saw any eggs out of her. He told me she's about 3 years old. Of course, I'm very curious about this behavior, so please fill me in with whatever info you can. Is this somewhat common? Is it possibly because she's not experienced in egg-laying? I suppose I should remove the rest of them tonight, huh? Thanks in advance for anything you can pass on.
Bob

 

[PatsyB]

Can't find any info about it but I guess it would be possible that they would eat their own infertile eggs. I would imagine in the wild they would want to get rid of any trace that they were in an area to avoid predators. Make sure you up her calcium now because the eggs take a lot out of her. I did read that you are supposed to dispose of the infertile eggs as soon as you see them.

 

[Bob21801]

Can't find any info about it but I guess it would be possible that they would eat their own infertile eggs. I would imagine in the wild they would want to get rid of any trace that they were in an area to avoid predators. Make sure you up her calcium now because the eggs take a lot out of her. I did read that you are supposed to dispose of the infertile eggs as soon as you see them.

Thanks Patsy. I appreciate the reply. I have removed the remaining eggs. I wasn't able to find any info on BDs eating their own eggs either. Still wondering if anybody else has experienced this too, or has any info. It would be nice to have all those babies. Perhaps another time.

 

[Noella]

It could be the need for extra calcium and extra protein.

 

[Bob21801]

It could be the need for extra calcium and extra protein.

Hi Noella,
Thanks for the reply. I thought about that too. I don't think it applies, but I could be wrong. Gypsy is on the small/light size for an adult, at 17 1/2" and just under 300 grams. I think this might be due to her first owner keeping her in an 18x18x18 cube enclosure and probably underfeeding her. I've since moved her to a 40 gallon tank and have been trying to feed her well. Since getting her, I've been giving her a very wide variety of LOTS of veggies every day and crickets and dubias at least a couple times/week - a few superworms too. I'm vegan and always have varied and plenty of veggies in the fridge. (My co-workers think I'm crazy because nobody they know eats anywhere close to as healthy as me. ;-). Gypsy usually gets the same salad I'm eating, only a smaller portion. ) I also sprinkle her food with calcium powder and a good reptile multi-vitamin at least once a week - usually more often. I suppose she could still be lacking, but I would be surprised.