Suspected laying problems, please help

[DragonHeart]

Hi guys, I have had a female dragon without knowing for over a year (I feel terrible...) and last night she began laying a clutch of unfertilised eggs, she was digging a hell of a lot beforehand to the point of wearing her nails down, I put some damp sand in a bowl deep enough for her to dig in (the sand was a day old so very clean) but she took no notice and continued to lay 20 eggs in a shameless corner, it took her over 4 hours in total which it bought was odd. Then I gave her a bathe within half an hour of her finishing ask read online that this is beneficial.

I came back from college today to find that she had layed another one bringing the total to 21, after this I bathed her again and her stomach was very soft and empty with the skin quite loose, but here's my problem... Within the last hour or so her belly has become swollen and really firm like she is constantly tensing her muscles and it is now twitching, I've looked online and can find nothing to put to use so I'm really hoping someone can please help me out? This is her first ever time laying as I have had her from a baby. Please take the time, any suggestions are welcome please don't be shy... I have a number to ring to get some information but I can't ring until after college tomorrow so would appreciate some help as I am starting to panic.

The thing I am most concerned about is egg bound bearded dragons can apparently die from the condition? I don't no whether I'm over reacting but I'm thinking the worst here, she means the world to me

Thank you for your time.
Abi

 

[khaleesi]

I don't think she's egg bound if she's layed 21 already I would say just give her some time, maybe 24 hours if it were me, my iguana was egg bound we got her induced and she layed 30 eggs in quick succession but my beardie girl is still only a baby so I wouldn't really know what to do in your situation either, she does look like more eggs possibly have dropped into her lower stomach so just keep a close eye try not to panic and let her do her thing. You will get a reply I'm sure from an expert soon enough I hope everything goes well with her and she lays the last of them for you quickly

 

[DragonHeart]

Thank you for your reassurance if feel a bit more settled knowing that your iguana was egg bound and was able to get it sorted out will keep an eye on her and fingers crossed

 

[gilliesexotics]

Hi, how the belly is lumped towards the back makes me want to say she may still have more eggs but it is hard to tell. HAve you palpated her to see if you feel any more eggs?
I would personally think it is one of these two things.
1. She does have more eggs
or
2. Is it possible she is inflated with air. It still wouldnt explain the indent and then lump towards the back unless somehow the rock is causing this.

To give you an idea how the eggs situate within the cavity. This is not a bearded dragon but it gives you a general idea how it works.
These are eggs i extracted from a wild caught female chameleon that came to me in bad shape. She only lived a few days after arriving here.
WARNING: Images may be disturbing to some.
http://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/607-post-death-egg-extraction.html

 

[Jesse omg it's me]

i dont know if i am right because i never went through this but im going to through this idea if i am wrong some please correct me...maybe after laying all those eggs she might trying to recover because that took a lot for her since this is her first time? check for more lumps and after laying all those eggs im going to agree she is more likely not egg bound best of luck hopefully someone helps you soon that knows more about this

 

[DragonHeart]

This morning she seems settled. She hasn't woken up yet but she slept all night without any moving around, her belly looks like its softened back out a bit and she doesn't look as stressed so hopefully she is just on the mend, will report back if there is any changed but all is good so far, thanks for the help guys

 

[Germ]

I wish you luck with your dragon & hope that everything turns out for the better. But for next time, as it is, she has laid out of desperation in an open area because she could no longer hold them. Placing a 'Bowl' of sand in the enclosure will not provide a suitable laying area & is why she did not use it to lay them in. A proper lay bin\area needs to be provided if this should happen again & it likely will. Here are some good links on what to do & how to setup a lay bin. Whether they are fertile or not, there is no difference in the laying process or the preparation for it. Very often, infertile eggs can not be seen or felt in the BD's tummy as they are often much smaller & softer than fertile eggs.

LAY BIN SETUP​

EGG LAYING & THE THINGS THAT YOU WILL NEED​

Please prepare for this next time for the health & wellbeing of the animal.​

I use sand as my substrate for my adults, so when this happens I simply dampen the sand & pile it up in a corner, providing an area that she can tunnel in to lay the eggs. Here are a couple of threads with lots of Pics of my last time this happened that to my surprise turned out to be fertile eggs.​

Sandy Laid Again - Pic Heavy​

Sandy's Eggs Hatching​

A simple Egg Candling method ...​

Fertile Or Infertile, That Is The Question??? ​

Good luck ​

 

[DragonHeart]

Thank you for that, very useful and I will definitely help her to prepare next time, I felt horrible when I found out and just tried to do what I could with little knowledge and time. Will do better for her next time as I now know it can be a stressful and exhausting period for her

 

[Germ]

Oh & for future reference

A few more good links that may also help ...

Basic BD Care Sheet - A Place To Start

Bearded Dragon --- Exclusive Care Info Library

Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Chart

Is Bearded Dragon Co-habitation a good plan?

 

[DragonHeart]

Thanks very much

 

[DragonHeart]

Ok new development! My mum has just send me a picture of some orange goo that appears to have come out of her, please someone tell me what the hell it is and is it normal! I'm not home at the moment but my mum says she seems fine... Sorry for the mess she's kicked the food everywhere lol

 

[DragonHeart]

Is it likely that she will lay another clutch? As she is showing signs like digging and not eating again... Let me know ASAP so I can help her this time. Thanks guys

 

[Germ]

She may or may not lay another. It is not often that infertile clutches are repetitive in short times. Mine used to almost yearly & one year, 3 clutches. Sandy never laid an infertile clutch until she was over 6 years old. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the sequence between dragons.

The orange stuff in your pic looks more to be puke than poop. What had it been fed? Has it happened again?

 

[gilliesexotics]

Hi, i agree with germ. It does look like puke. Just a question have you fed oranges lately?

 

[DragonHeart]

When she pooed the following day where was some in there too, and she hadnt eaten at this point

 

[DragonHeart]

And no I don't feed oranges