| to sex you dragon, it must be at least 18 inches long including the tail. Everything above explains at what size you can sex and how to sex your dragon. As for egg bound you will see a dramatic increase in abdominal girth which is of course the eggs. Yes they will become skinny and slowed down loosing mass and so on as well as become calcium deficient do to being egg bound. Female dragons may produce and lay eggs whether or not they have copulated with a male or not. The eggs wont be fertile if they haven’t been with a male but the information below is very important if you have a female dragon. A gravid females appetite will slowly decrease and her belly expands she wont be able to eat much at all eventually since the eggs will be pressing on her digestive system therefore she will probably loose weight in the legs, arms and tail. You will likely get quite worried about her judging from what others have said about their gravid females. It is very important to make sure that a gravid female dragon gets adequate calcium supplements during this period. Give them over their normal calcium amount by either adding powdered calcium to their food or by giving liquid calcium drops (in their drinking water). Simple gut-loading your crickets will not do. Normally you should be giving your dragons calcium supplements at least twice a week at all times at very least, but gravid females may need extra calcium during this two month period to aid in egg development and to prevent depletion of calcium levels in her own body. Egg Laying:
Females lay eggs approximately two months after copulation has occurred. 2-3 weeks before she is ready to lay you may be able to gently palpate 2-4 eggs on either side of her belly, these eggs may actually become not just palpable but visible on her sides as she gets closer to laying them. They will feels almost like jelly beans along her sides. Once you can feel the eggs (gently) prepare an area for her to lay eggs (if you have not done so already). To prepare an area you will need a space in the enclosure that has either soil (NO FERTILIZER OF ANY KIND!) or sandy peat moss (this is highly recommended) that is about 8 to 10 inches deep. Make sure that the soul is slightly moist but not too moist. You dont want it to dry either! When she starts digging you want the soil to pile up nicely for her not cave back in on her. So make sure it is moist enough that when you dig in it or hold it in your hand it will back and not fall loose and grainy. If you do not set up a proper area she may hold the eggs and become egg-bound. This is a very serious condition! When she is just about ready to lay her eggs you may notice her digging on and off but not laying the eggs yet. Keep and eye on her shell lay the eggs eventually. Dystocia:
Dystocia is a relatively common malady in reptiles, occurring in lizards, snakes and chelonians. There are many different causes and in most cases the cause goes undetected. Dystocia occurs most often in first time breeding females of those females who have previously retained eggs and female bearing infertile clutches. Dystocia can occur in live bearing and ovoviviparous species; these are less common perhaps only because at this time there are fewer such species being bred in comparison with oviparous (egg-laying) species. One general cause of dystocia may be due to inability of the eggs to pass through the oviduct and cloacae. There may be an obstruction (such as masses of abscesses or cystic calculi) the eggs may be too large or malpositioned or the pelvis may be misshapen. Two or more eggs may be bound together or a single egg may be exceptionally large or misshapen. Dystocias can occur in the absence of obstructions of malformations. It is theorized that such retentions may be result of one or more factors including poor husbandry, improper nesting site, improper temperatures, poor or inadequate diet (malnutrition), dehydration and poor physical conditions of the female. This latter is easily caused in and remedied in captivity. Captive reptiles lead very sedentary lifestyles compared to their wild counterparts, this lack the muscle strength or tone to get all the eggs into position for laying and expelling them in a timely manner (from first egg to last). It is not uncommon for the last egg or two to be retained despite the successful and apparent ease with which the rest of the clutch was expelled (from my experiences egg-binding in iggies happen more often to females who are enclosed in cages that to not allow for sufficient climbing, being either to short or they are fed at their basking sites and often physically removed by the owner for defecation elsewhere. Iggies housed in enclosures at least 5-6 feet high and who must climb up and down for eating/drinking and defecation appear to have fewer incidents of dystocia). The most common causes of dystocia in lizards is the absence of a suitable nesting site and media. A lizard progressing normally through the period of carrying gestating eggs or fetus will not be eating but will be alter and active. Their usually physical grace may be compromised especially as their lower half becomes swollen with the developing eggs or fetuses but they are able to move around climbing and roosting as usual. A lizard suffering from dystocia on the other hand will become lethargic, depressed and/or no responsive. If the laying media is not of the right consistency the lizard may spend hours kicking the dirt out then wandering around making digging attempts almost anywhere. This latter activity is more frenzied and the lizard grows weaker and more visibly stressed as the pressure to lay the eggs mounts. Straining may be seen as may the prolapse of cloacal or oviductal tissue. Lizards can tolerate dystocia for considerably less time than can snakes often only matter of days and so should be evaluated medically soon after such signs are observed. Many lizards can produce and lay eggs without being mated. Treatment:
Instigating treatment before it is necessary may cause more harm to the female and to the developing clutch. Conversely with holding treatment or delaying getting treatment may be injurious to the female and developing clutch especially in lizards. Once the female begins but does not complete laying or birthing, treatment should be started within 48 hours. Females will sometimes complete laying or birthing after a pause but generally within the 48 hour window. Physical treatment:
One common way to induce laying is to gently but firmly massage the eggs out one by one by running the finger down the abdomen. This method is risky, however in that it may rupture or cause a prolapse in the oviduct, could rupture the egg and thus possibly cause death. If the egg can actually be seen at the vent extreme care may be taken to try and remove the egg but attempts may result in a broken egg with disastrous results for the female. Hormonal Stimulation:
Posterior pituitary hormones have been used to start oviductal contractions. It is not effective and may be dangerous in females who are suffering from malformation of the pelvis or oviduct or who are carrying malformed/misshapen/enlarged eggs or fetus or who are suffering from an obstruction of the oviduct. Use of oxytocin (or the new experimental arginine vasotocin or aminosuberic arginine vasotocin) in such cases may cause egg or oviductal rupture or hemorrhage and death. The overall efficacy of oxytocin, the most commonly administered hormone, varies between species and can be hampered the longer the retention; it is most effective when administered within the first 48 hours. Oxytocin is administered by intramuscular or intracoelomic injections (5-30 IU/kg, but reports of efficacy in doses as low as 1 IU/kg have been reported in turtles). A second dose is often given 2-60 minutes after the first injection. Oxytocin’s effectiveness is increased by the provision of the proper temperatures so the female should be kept at the preferred body temperature for the species. Oxytocin is most effective in chelonians less effective in lizards and not as effective in snakes. Arginine vasotocin and aminosuberic arginine vasotocin a less effective but more stable form of arginine vasotocin is the natural reptilian oxytocin. It is more effective than oxytocin but arginine vasotocin is available only as a research drug and is quite pricey than oxytocin. Other hormone treatments have been tried to increase the efficacy of oxytocin including administration of progesterone and estrogen; there have been no studies to verify their usefulness. once recent study did show that pretreatment with proprandol may increase the efficacy of labor inducing drugs. Aspiration:
A common treatment for dystocia involves inserting a needle into the egg and aspirating the contents. The result is a far smaller egg which may be more easily passed through the oviduct and cloaca; oxytonic may be used to start contractions if they do not start on their own within a few hours or even a couple of days. Caution must be taken to not allow any of the egg contents to escape into the coelomic cavity. Aspiration must be done within the 48 hour period after cessation of natural laying attempts. After that short time the contents of the eggs themselves being to harden making aspiration impossible. If the eggs are not expelled within 48 hours of aspiration they must be surgically removed. Surgery:
If other attempts at inducing have failed the reptile must be anesthized for surgical removal. Before cutting a final attempt at manually manipulating the eggs be tried owning to the reduced risk to the female due to the relation of the oviductal sphincter from the anesthesia. As before care must be taken to not push hard enough to cause prolapse or rupture. Depending upon what is found when the vet goes inside the eggs only may be removed or some or all the reproductive tissues may be removed. If there is no intention of breeding the female the other may wish to have the ovariousalingectomy done at the same time to prevent future incidents of binding. Viability of the removed eggs/fetuses:
Fertile eggs removed with oxytocin from non-dystocia females have been successfully incubated; eggs from females suffering from dystocia have generally not been successful. Fetuses removed through salpingotomy have also been successful. Finishing up:
The biggest factors determining female post-retention survival is her overall physical state. Most are severely weakened as the result of the dystocia. Those who started out in good nutritional health/hydration and physical states are more likely to recover. Reptiles who have had only one of their reproductive tracts removed may often successfully reproduce in the future. Personally speaking if you are concerned about dystocia, if you are not sure if your female is gravid or not, if you are not sure if she is distressed or not, do not guess and try to wait it out. Get her to a reptile vet and find out exactly (or as much as possible) what you are dealing with! I hope all of this has answered your question in full. If you are curious about something else or I didn’t quite answer your question to your liking please feel free to ask more, est.
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