Symptoms of carrying infertile eggs

[pscaulkins]

I have done searches on the symptoms of a female dragon carrying infertile eggs and have found bits and pieces but not everything. :-\ What I am looking for are the symptoms, what to look for, behaviors, etc. I would appreciate everyone's experience with this.

Here is a few questions:
Do the females gain weight fast or over months?
Are their tummy's soft or hard?
Does their demeanor change?
What causes infertile eggs and why do some females don't lay them and others do?
How long do they carry the infertiles before they lay them?

I have read that some females drop urates only right before they lay, is this correct?

One last question, does palpating the stomach to check for eggs cause issues?

 

[pscaulkins]

No one on this forum knows/wants to share any info on infertile eggs???

 

[Craiger]

No one on this forum knows/wants to share any info on infertile eggs???

Just saw this....sorry, Sandy.

I can tell you that Sam's belly doesn't ever feel "hard" when she's gravid with infertiles. She does appear quite overweight...and it does appear to happen fast. I mean, she'd lay infertiles with only about 5 weeks between each lay....and she'd look super thin right after dropping them.

I can tell you that she'll go off food about two or three days before she lays. And in that time, she seems to get super hyper. Running back and forth, glass dancing, jumping around. Just about everything out of the ordinary.

She also tends to have BMs twice a day just before as well. This is unusual for her....at least since she was a baby. And they're usually quite runny.

Other than that, the only other tell-tale sign that I've picked up on is the digging. Of course, once she gets to this, all the other signs are over. I've gotten to where I'm at high alert any time I start noticing any of the early signs....as I don't want her hurting herself anymore by digging in her enclosure.

That's not to say there aren't other signs....I just haven't picked up on them.

 

[crypticdragons]

No one on this forum knows/wants to share any info on infertile eggs???

As of yet I have not had to deal with a female laying infertiles but I would wager that many of the behavioral keys that a female with fertile eggs show are probably the same for infertiles. Sorry I am not any help with infertile clutches.

 

[Pogie]

Oh NO!
P is doing most of this.... Ill add in red
Sorry Sandy if you feel Im hijacking your thread . . . but now I'm worried :-\

I can tell you that Sam's belly doesn't ever feel "hard" when she's gravid with infertiles. Yip soft belly She does appear quite overweight...and it does appear to happen fast. Yip nice round belly I mean, she'd lay infertiles with only about 5 weeks between each lay....and she'd look super thin right after dropping them. Dont know about laying since shes never done it before

I can tell you that she'll go off food about two or three days before she lays. YIP YIP, she didnt eat anything the past 2 days, and today 1 bite of salad. She wont even lick water, but seems OK . . . not starving And in that time, she seems to get super hyper. Running back and forth, glass dancing, jumping around. Just about everything out of the ordinary. OH yeah, shes been running up and down the viv, bashing the glass, head bobbing kinda (moving head up and down the glass) Running away when I try to pet her, running away if I offer her food. Nothing seems to calm her

She also tends to have BMs twice a day just before as well. This is unusual for her....at least since she was a baby. And they're usually quite runny.

Other than that, the only other tell-tale sign that I've picked up on is the digging.

Could she be older than the estimated 9 months 3 weeks? She was 11 inches when I got her and was told she was approx 5 months then

 

[Craiger]

Could she be older than the estimated 9 months 3 weeks? She was 11 inches when I got her and was told she was approx 5 months then

Unless you know for sure, anything's possible. I'd be keeping an eye on Pogie. If she starts digging, you'll know what's going on. You may want to consider having the necessary items on-hand should you need to put up a laybox pretty quick. A 20 gallon tub or larger and either a soil/sand mixture or just sand. Brian seems to do real well with just sand....so it might be something I do as well next time I need to. If you use soil and sand mixture, be sure to use natural soil with no fertilizer ingredients for plants. It needs to be as natural as possible....and moist. Regardless of what you use for a substrate, it'll need to be moistened and have a light directly over it to keep the surface temp around 80 to 85 degrees. If it's too cool, she likely won't find it suitable to lay her eggs....if she has any to lay.

No need to panic 'til you see her digging.

 

[pscaulkins]

Thanks everyone! I truly never paid attention to eggs in general. This is one area that I absolutely know nothing about. I was trying to figure out my youngest.

When they dig, do they dig at the floor or the sides of the tank? Jada window dances like there is no tomorrow. She is extremely fat and wants to eat nonstop. She can easily eat 20 exlarge supers a day if I let her. Her fat pads are literally huge and so are her legs now. Her belly has been the same size since she woke up and devoured everything in site. She is one eating machine and has been for many months.

 

[pscaulkins]

Oh NO!
P is doing most of this.... Ill add in red
Sorry Sandy if you feel Im hijacking your thread . . . but now I'm worried :-\

Don't worry about hijacking my thread.

 

[Craiger]

When they dig, do they dig at the floor or the sides of the tank?

When Sam digs, she digs at the floor, but usually in a corner. She'll use both front and back legs and alternate between left and right. And this usually doesn't stop. She'll continue digging and digging...which is why I try to pick up on symptoms as early as possible. She's filed her nails down to nothing before....until they bleed. And I don't want that happening again.

The digging can go on for hours, but she'll usually quit in one place if she feels like she isn't getting anywhere and go to another.

 

[pscaulkins]

When they dig, do they dig at the floor or the sides of the tank?

When Sam digs, she digs at the floor, but usually in a corner. She'll use both front and back legs and alternate between left and right. And this usually doesn't stop. She'll continue digging and digging...which is why I try to pick up on symptoms as early as possible. She's filed her nails down to nothing before....until they bleed. And I don't want that happening again.

The digging can go on for hours, but she'll usually quit in one place if she feels like she isn't getting anywhere and go to another.

I remember reading about the filed down, bloody toenails. You are more experienced with this now so it won't happen again. I have never seen a beardie dig.

 

[crypticdragons]

When they dig, do they dig at the floor or the sides of the tank?

When Sam digs, she digs at the floor, but usually in a corner. She'll use both front and back legs and alternate between left and right. And this usually doesn't stop. She'll continue digging and digging...which is why I try to pick up on symptoms as early as possible. She's filed her nails down to nothing before....until they bleed. And I don't want that happening again.

The digging can go on for hours, but she'll usually quit in one place if she feels like she isn't getting anywhere and go to another.

I remember reading about the filed down, bloody toenails. You are more experienced with this now so it won't happen again. I have never seen a beardie dig.

The digging will be hard to miss. My females always shove their face into a corner of their viv and start digging alternating front and back feet and side to side. That is my sign typically to transfer them to their lay bin