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Q: Gravid bearded dragon
Posted By:

l3r0k3nh34rt

In Relation To:

Whiskey

My two year old female bearded dragon has been showing signs of pregnancy for about a month now. First, I noticed her aggressively digging in her sand box and it occured to me that I should probably check to see if she was gravid.

I could feel a tiny lump on her right side. At first, it worried me because I could only feel a single lump and I thought it could be a tumor.

On the 8th of May, I could feel three lumps. On the 17th, while fully relaxed and soaking, I could feel somewhere between six and eight lumps.

The first lump that I felt is still the largest and most pronounced feeling. It is located on her lower right side about a half inch from her vent. 

She appears quite a bit larger in the belly now than she did three weeks ago when I noticed the first lump, but she is not showing the normal "belly full of marbles" appearance.  

This will be her first pregnancy. I did read that the first time, females can lay as few as six eggs. 

I have moved her into her own private suite. The tank is covered and in a completely silent area. I am using moist coconut fiber for her to lay and dig instead of sand. The substrate is about six inches deep, giving her plenty of room to dig her nest. 

I am curious as to what everyone else thinks. Is it normal for a first timer to now show as obviously? Is it true that she could lay as few as six? And from the first feeling of an egg, how soon should she be expecting?

I know it says six-eight weeks from mating...I did not actually witness a mating, but she has been with the male for some time. But, how soon from the first feeling of an egg as opposed to how soon since the mating?


Attached Photos:



Points: 150
Topics: Egg Laying
Species: Lizards > Lizards > Pogona vitticeps
Administrative: Show/Hide

Accepted Answer 5/25/2013 8:11:45 PM

SLRPiX
As a rule this is exactly why I do not house males and females together. (Also the males tend to stress the females out) females also need a bit more attention while building eggs especially with so much calcium going to the eggs. I cannot tell you a time since you first realized. I am not sure anyone really can and at best it is a guess. Digging usually is a huge sign of preparing to lay along with lack of interest in eating. I have never heard of anyone using coco fiber for laying beardies. Part of the biggest necessity is that they should be able to dig a cave and have it not collapse. I do not know of coco fiber being able to do that. That is why sand or even a sand clay mixture is often used. If my experience is anything, 6 inches is not much to dig in. My lay box is around a foot deep with about 100lbs of sand. The quiet area to lay is good, I would still give her heat/light on a normal cycle though if you are not already though. As to the few as six eggs, it really depends. My first timer girl had 20 eggs her first clutch and 24 the second a month later, all fertile.that was from one breeding. Hope you are prepared for possible double even triple clutching and feeding many many mouths! (I went through 6k-8k crickets and a couple thousand dubia a week) Good luck.
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