My dragon finished laying her eggs, but she still won't eat...

[Jacquelyn_Kerrion]

To start with, she technically isn't mine anymore because I gave her to my sister's boyfriend. It was bad timing because she started laying eggs the week before I was scheduled to drop her off. (My sister lives six hours away.) I did some research and I understand that bearded dragons don't eat while they are laying and the week before, but shouldn't she have started eating as soon as she was done laying? She has layed at least fifteen eggs that I counted and hasn't laid any new ones since she layed one last solitary egg nearly a week ago. I told my sister to try dropping her rehydrated pellets that she usually likes into the terrarium one by one, because that has always caught her eye in the past. I also told her to include some fresh greens and the mealworms I sent up with her, but Toothless (my sister's new name for her) has just been ignoring all of it. She's two and a half years old and I had her for all that time.

Honestly, I'm baffled. She's never been a finicky dragon, and this pickiness isn't like her. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

If I am understanding your post correctly then you couldn't have picked a worst time to rehome your dragon. Egg laying is extremely rough and stressful on bearded dragons and right in the middle of her egg laying cycle she had a major environmental change and is now with new people in a strange place.
I would say that's about as traumatic as it can get for a dragon.
The very first thing dragon's as well as most other creatures do when stressed is to go off food and that is why she isn't eating and I would imagine that because of all this she is not in good health.
She's going to need some extra supplementation to replace what she burned up in the egg laying process. She is also going to need a lot of patience while she tries to acclimate to her new home and new routine.
I truly hope that her new keeper has her enclosure set up and dialed in properly because if it is not right it will only compound the situation.
You didn't say how long she has been off food. If it has not been but a few days or even a week then I would just keep offering live prey and making sure she has fresh greens and veggies available every day. They may want to try giving her an extra 20-30 minute soak in 105 degree F water. The soak will help hydrate her as well as can stimulate her appetite. I would also recommend them order a bottle of Reptaid from www.reptaid.com and start her on a 10 day cycle of that which will help stimulate her appetite and boost her immune system. It can be mixed with Pedialyte which will also help keep her hydrated. Make sure that they read the instructions on the bottle as to proper dosage.
I am not a real fan or proponent of feeding pinkie mice to bearded dragons because they are insectivores but many people will offer them to females after laying to get them beefed up. They may want to try that as well but pinkie mice should not be used as a staple food.
If she continues to not show interest in eating then I would suggest that they find a qualified reptile vet and hopefully one that is familiar with bearded dragons and take her in for a check up.
Hope this helps and hope she gets to feeling better soon.

 

[Jacquelyn_Kerrion]

My sister just told me this morning that Toothless ate some mealworms, but I relayed her all of the good advice you gave me anyway and told her that the dragon is going to need more calcium after laying eggs. I'll stay in close contact to make sure everything is all right, but the situation is looking better now. That's a relief, because she hadn't eaten a week before laying the eggs or the week after with travel and adjustment, so it's going to take careful care to get her in good health again. Thank you so much for the advice and quick response! It is greatly appreciated.