Repeatedly Gravid Chinese Water Dragon?

[Jnettie]

Has anyone else out there with female Water Dragons encountered this problem?

My female (Kayda) was gravid for the first time in January and had 7 eggs. She laid them in her dirt we provided. It seemed text book perfect to what I read about laying eggs.

In March she wasn't acting quite right (extremely cranky little girl!!) so I took her to the vet to make sure she was ok since this was so out of character for her. I had them do an xray and the vet said she was gravid again with approx 5-7 eggs that he could see. So we waited and started finding eggs in strange spots. 2 were in her pool, 2 were on the bottom of her cage (not in her dirt) and 1 was up on a branch in her leaves. We figured she was done and she did return to being her sweet little self and eating well again.

So the past 2 weeks she has been a little nut, diving into her pool and climbing the sides of the cage. Jumping across the cage and repeating it all again. She started digging in her dirt again. I felt her belly and I could feel eggs again!! Today she is currently back in her favorite spot and very calm so I checked her dirt. Sure enough, eggs!

What is going on? I thought they only produced eggs once a year in the late fall and winter.
Is this normal?? Should I expect this to happen all the time? Is it because this is her first time and her body needs to work it out?

We don't have plans to breed her unless she gets bigger. Our male is full grown and quite a large boy and I don't feel she would come out very well if we let them breed. She is a rescue and may never get bigger considering the environment she was raised in for her first 2 1/2 years.

Any insight would be fantastic!

 

[Momgoose56]

Has anyone else out there with female Water Dragons encountered this problem?

My female (Kayda) was gravid for the first time in January and had 7 eggs. She laid them in her dirt we provided. It seemed text book perfect to what I read about laying eggs.

In March she wasn't acting quite right (extremely cranky little girl!!) so I took her to the vet to make sure she was ok since this was so out of character for her. I had them do an xray and the vet said she was gravid again with approx 5-7 eggs that he could see. So we waited and started finding eggs in strange spots. 2 were in her pool, 2 were on the bottom of her cage (not in her dirt) and 1 was up on a branch in her leaves. We figured she was done and she did return to being her sweet little self and eating well again.

So the past 2 weeks she has been a little nut, diving into her pool and climbing the sides of the cage. Jumping across the cage and repeating it all again. She started digging in her dirt again. I felt her belly and I could feel eggs again!! Today she is currently back in her favorite spot and very calm so I checked her dirt. Sure enough, eggs!

What is going on? I thought they only produced eggs once a year in the late fall and winter.
Is this normal?? Should I expect this to happen all the time? Is it because this is her first time and her body needs to work it out?

We don't have plans to breed her unless she gets bigger. Our male is full grown and quite a large boy and I don't feel she would come out very well if we let them breed. She is a rescue and may never get bigger considering the environment she was raised in for her first 2 1/2 years.

Any insight would be fantastic!

Can she see/hear/smell the male? I don't know about lizards, but with horses, we get the mares to come into heat just by introducing them to, or stalling them within eyesight of, the Stallions a few days in a row....

 

[Fish0n]

I've never heard of this problem with Water Dragons particularly but I would check with a vet to see if Kayda needs any sort of supplement like calcium since this is so frequent.

 

[Jnettie]

Can she see/hear/smell the male? I don't know about lizards, but with horses, we get the mares to come into heat just by introducing them to, or stalling them within eyesight of, the Stallions a few days in a row....

No, they live in completely sperate rooms. Although that is an interesting theory.

I've never heard of this problem with Water Dragons particularly but I would check with a vet to see if Kayda needs any sort of supplement like calcium since this is so frequent.

Why does low calcium stimulate egg production? We know she needs a lot more nutrients so I think I will get liquid ones. She refuses to eat anything but worms. She won't eat dubia roaches or any type of fruit or veggie.

Her worms are always covered in calcium and vitamin powders. I give her Phoenix worms and horn worms about once a week in addition to her meal worms trying to give some kind of different nutrition.

 

[Momgoose56]

No, they live in completely sperate rooms. Although that is an interesting theory.



Why does low calcium stimulate egg production? We know she needs a lot more nutrients so I think I will get liquid ones. She refuses to eat anything but worms. She won't eat dubia roaches or any type of fruit or veggie.

Her worms are always covered in calcium and vitamin powders. I give her Phoenix worms and horn worms about once a week in addition to her meal worms trying to give some kind of different nutrition.

Calcium doesn't stimulate egg production, it assists with muscle contraction so the lizard/bird can expel the eggs. Egg production requires tons of calcium, especially in birds, and so depletes available calcium in the body. If enough calcium isn't available in the diet the body will take calcium from bones to maintain muscle (heart and skeletal muscle mainly) function until bones start suffering and muscle contraction becomes inefficient. Lizards and other egg layers can become egg-bound (eggs get 'stuck') if the muscles can't push them out.

 

[BReefer97]

Honestly, it’s normal for this to happen with most all reptiles. Definitely can’t say for sure when she’ll stop laying infertile eggs, but I wouldn’t be concerned about it. Just make sure she’s getting enough calcium so the eggs can fully develop and she doesn’t become egg bound. I’m not sure if Chinese dragons can have parthogenic eggs (fertile eggs that have no male parent; basically genetic copies of the mother - they typically don’t live past hatching) but I would freeze the eggs and throw them out just to be sure.

Reptiles are weird, especially females. I’m not sure about water dragons specifically, but I know with other reptiles they can lay infertile eggs for over a year straight so this doesn’t surprise or worry me

 

[Momgoose56]

Honestly, it’s normal for this to happen with most all reptiles. Definitely can’t say for sure when she’ll stop laying infertile eggs, but I wouldn’t be concerned about it. Just make sure she’s getting enough calcium so the eggs can fully develop and she doesn’t become egg bound. I’m not sure if Chinese dragons can have parthogenic eggs (fertile eggs that have no male parent; basically genetic copies of the mother - they typically don’t live past hatching) but I would freeze the eggs and throw them out just to be sure.

Reptiles are weird, especially females. I’m not sure about water dragons specifically, but I know with other reptiles they can lay infertile eggs for over a year straight so this doesn’t surprise or worry me

They can probably lay infertile eggs all their reproductive lives. Just like chickens. They are first cousins lol! My friends iguana layed eggs all her life.
Theoretically, human females could become pregnant and bear children without male sperm fertilization. All the children would be female though.

 

[BReefer97]

I wonder if you could change the environment though to encourage her to stop laying. Basically putting them in to a temporary brumation period so the dragon is able to replenish everything the laying is taking out of her. Basically lowering the temperature gradually and making the days shorter (turn off lighting earlier in the day).

I don’t think I’d personally let any of my reptiles continuously lay eggs as it really isn’t good for them. It could be a sign of a hormone imbalance or there could be something wrong with her reproductive organs causing her to over produce eggs. A breeder would not let their reptile lay a clutch of eggs every month for over a year, it takes a lot of energy from them and really stresses them out. To put it in to perspective, 10 clutches isn’t normal and shouldn’t be overlooked.

This is only her third clutch, correct? If she lays more than 5-6 clutches, I would try lowering the temperature gradually and decrease the amount of day time. If you know someone with a male you can try pairing them so the energy she’s expending laying doesn’t go to waste, and the eggs will be easier for her to pass. After she’s done laying fertile eggs, she should stop laying infertile eggs for a while.

Spaying a reptile is a huge no no, but in a situation where a reptile won’t stop laying infertile eggs causing constant stress and nothing else has worked, it’s a last resort option some have had to unfortunately take. It’s a dangerous operation for reptiles but constant egg laying can be just as dangerous.

Yours has only laid a few infertile clutches so she may stop before it gets to a dangerous point, but I want to give you all the information I can so if she does continue to lay, you know what your options are and you don’t need to panic

 

[Jnettie]

Thank you so much for all the great info! I finally realized I could get her liquid vitamins (duh!) So that I could control that a little better. I will give her calcium 4 times a week since she is going through this egg laying phase. I also have liquid vitamins for her plus I will continue to dust her food too. She is my little rescue baby and I just want her to be healthy!! I'll keep an eye on her and get her back to the vet if this seems to be a problem.

 

[BReefer97]

Thank you so much for all the great info! I finally realized I could get her liquid vitamins (duh!) So that I could control that a little better. I will give her calcium 4 times a week since she is going through this egg laying phase. I also have liquid vitamins for her plus I will continue to dust her food too. She is my little rescue baby and I just want her to be healthy!! I'll keep an eye on her and get her back to the vet if this seems to be a problem.

I wouldn’t give calcium that often! If she’s laying than I would only give her calcium every two weeks, occasionally once a week. Too much calcium can cause metabolic bone disease as well. Laying eggs does take a lot out of them, but not that much.

Post some pictures of her! I would love to see do you have any other reptiles?

 

[Jnettie]

I wouldn’t give calcium that often! If she’s laying than I would only give her calcium every two weeks, occasionally once a week. Too much calcium can cause metabolic bone disease as well. Laying eggs does take a lot out of them, but not that much.

Ok, I will try to make sure we don't overdose on the calcium. She refuses to eat anything except worms so I worry. She is offered greens, fruits and fresh organic dandelions at least every other day. I've started buying her Phoenix worms. She gets hornworms or butter worms once a week as a treat.

Post some pictures of her! I would love to see do you have any other reptiles?

She is such a beautiful little girl. Her previous owner kept her in a 10 gallon glass aquarium so she has broken of a lot of her lip and teeth but I still think she is gorgeous!! I have a little bearded dragon too. He is my Avatar. He is pretending to be hanging out and denying that he is eyeing the fish. He is another rescue. My son has a full grown male water dragon that is also a rescue. The only non rescue reptile is a beautiful, but incredibly cranky, blue tongue skink.
We also have two retired Guide Dogs, my son's hilarious mutt and 5 aquariums. It's a busy house run by animals.

 

[Fish0n]

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She is such a beautiful little girl. Her previous owner kept her in a 10 gallon glass aquarium so she has broken of a lot of her lip and teeth but I still think she is gorgeous!! I have a little bearded dragon too. He is my Avatar. He is pretending to be hanging out and denying that he is eyeing the fish. He is another rescue. My son has a full grown male water dragon that is also a rescue. The only non rescue reptile is a beautiful, but incredibly cranky, blue tongue skink.
We also have two retired Guide Dogs, my son's hilarious mutt and 5 aquariums. It's a busy house run by animals.

Is anything shared by the water dragons or something like unwashed hands that could be transferring scents? I see you said they were in separate rooms but maybe things like food dishes or a swapped decor item could be triggering something?

 

[Jnettie]

Is anything shared by the water dragons or something like unwashed hands that could be transferring scents? I see you said they were in separate rooms but maybe things like food dishes or a swapped decor item could be triggering something?

No, I take care of her and my son takes care of his. I offer her food I've prepared for all the lizards but I'm not the one feeding the male. But then again, who knows how well they smell or process sounds that stimulate them. The door to my son's room is always closed to keep up the humidity though so they shouldn't even be aware of each other.