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Where do Bearded Dragons Lay Eggs? (Is it obvious?)

If you are thinking about breading or surprised to notice that your Beardie is gravid (Click here to see why I rate this Beardie guide, to stop these kinds of surprises). You may be wondering where the eggs get laid.

Where do bearded dragons lay eggs? In captivity, Bearded Dragons lay their eggs in moist bedding, they are typically located in their mother’s enclosure or in a separate enclosure segregated to get the optimal heat and humidity settings.

Now that you understand where these eggs are laid, read on to learn how to know when your Bearded dragon is going to lay eggs, how to prepare for the egg-laying, what to do when they are laid, and much more.

How do you know if your Bearded dragon is going to lay eggs?

Lizard Eggs in Soil

Lizard Eggs in Soil

If you are not breading Bearded Dragons you may not know exactly how to know when your she is about to lay eggs, and in some cases, this could happen without a male being present (more on this later).

So, in this section, I am going to explain how you can look out for the signs that she is about to, or close to laying.

If you at your Beardie from a distance, you will see that she will be putting on weight. But, if you get closer you will see that the eggs are becoming visible from the outside, which is giving you this illusion.

When you see it, it will resemble an array of marbles clumped together, are you with me? If you can see this she is now referred to as “Gravid”.

What is Gravid?

Gravid is when your Bearded dragon is carrying eggs and likely to lay eggs soon. Think of it as what we call pregnant. But, for Bearded Dragons, they lay eggs rather than live young, so this stage is called being Gravid.

Once you clarify that she is at this stage you can expect to see her digging to bury these eggs within around three weeks. This is why it’s important to prepare for this, see the next section to see how to do this.

How do you prepare for the eggs to be laid?

So, if you read the last section, you now know how to identify if she is ready to lay eggs soon. But, how do you prepare for this so that it goes smoothly? Well, in this section I will cover what you need to do.

Creating a nesting area

To make sure that you are prepared, you need to create a nesting area. This is important because it will provide a segregated or completely separate (more on this in a sec) safe area for the eggs.

Not only is it segregated for safety, but it is also important for the heating and lighting conditions. The container can either be placed in the same enclosure, but it can also be moved to a separate enclosure.

The latter will entail more costs because you will need separate equipment to maintain it, are you with me?

The container can be quite basic, just a small container is required. However, the contents and condition of the container is more important.

Heating and substrate requirements

The substrate needs to be moist and clean. Also, it should be positioned under the lighting to maintain the optimal heating conditions.

On the topic of heating, it should be kept at 80 to 85 degrees F. To maintain this heating you can use heat lights or a tank heater.

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If you decide to separate the nesting area, in a separate enclosure, it’s important to pre-moisten the substrate and heat it, before you lay her in there, are you with me?

The humidity

As well as the heating, I have mentioned the fact that the substrate needs to be kept moist, remember? Well, this links to humidity. You need to maintain the humidity in the enclosure to approx 75%. The thing is, this is important, so you will need some sort of humidity gauge to check and regulate it (Click here for the price on Amazon).

Also, as well as this, it should also be regularly misted. This will keep the substrate moist. But, one thing though, it important to not mist the eggs directly, this can lead to mold in the enclosure. As you can imagine this is not good for your Beardie or her eggs.

How long do their eggs take to hatch?

If you have read the previous sections, then you will now understand what you need to do check when she is near to laying her eggs, how to prepare for them. But you may be wondering how long it will take for these eggs to hatch, right? Let me explain…

If you have done everything correctly, then you can expect to see the eggs anything from 40 to 90 days. This is quite a broad time frame. So, as you can imagine, this can vary a lot.

But, if you have infertile eggs, the reality is they will never hatch, and you may be scratching your head wondering why. In the next section, I will explain how to look out for this.

How do you know if a Bearded dragon egg is fertile?

So, by now you should have understood how to have the eggs ready and prepared, and eagerly waiting for them to hatch, right? But, what if they are infertile? How can you check if they are infertile to save yourself wasting your time? Let me explain…

There is a simple way that you can check if they are fertile. It is as simple as holding them to the light and inspecting the eggs. If you look closely you should see a pinkish embryo inside. If not, it is infertile.

This process is referred to as “candling”. But, it is important not to handle the eggs too much, because this can cause problems with their development. so, there is a fine line to cross here.

How many eggs do bearded dragons lay & how often?

Now that you know how to prepare for these eggs you may start to wonder how many you can expect to see. Also, how often doe this egg-laying take place, right? Let me explain…

Bearded Dragons lay eggs in clutches. This means a group of eggs laid altogether. In each clutch, you can expect to see anything from 20 to 30 eggs laid. And, withing one breeding year, you can expect to see approx, 3 to 6 clutches.

However, this is more of a guide because, in reality, this can vary. You may notice that your Beardie lays eggs every month, for example.

With that being said, this is why it’s important to be prepared and have the correct setup in place. As well as this, keeping her well hydrated is mandatory.

Female laying eggs without a partner, is it possible?

Two central bearded dragon on the stone in nature with bookeh background. Australian lizard

Two central bearded dragons

If you have noticed that your Beardie is Gravid, or just laid eggs, but there are no signs of a male Beardie around, keep reading. In this section, I will explain exactly how and why this may happen and why it is more common than you think.

If you have noticed she is gravid without a male the chances are the eggs are infertile or she has somehow met up with a male, without you knowing. But, assuming you have one enclosure with one Bearded Dragon, its likely to be the former, are you with me?

What is an infertile egg?

An infertile egg is an egg that has not been fertilized by a male lizard. To make it easier o understand, let’s use us, humans, as an example. From birth, a female human is born with eggs, but she needs a male’s sperm to fertilize those eggs before a baby is made, are you with me?

It has been known that Beardies as young as 10 months can lay infertile eggs. But, this is more of an exception. It is more common between the ages of 2 and 4 years old.

The reality is many female Bearded Dragons lay infertile eggs, but some will never, so it can be confusing.

Related Questions:

In this section, I will answer some questions related to your Bearded Dragons behavior and potential problems. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me.

Q: Are Bearded Dragons ever affected by pests?

Yes, some Bearded Dragons Bearded Dragons can get infected with Mites (Click here to learn how to get rid of them the easy way). As well as other pests such as ticks. If this happens the enclosure and the Beardie will need to be treated, also the environment around the enclosure.

Q: Do Bearded Dragons recognize you?

Yes, Bearded dragons can recognize you. Usually, they will associate with you based on their feeding times. They will learn to sense you and associate you with positive experiences, such as feeding and receiving treats. It is also known that Bearded Dragons are quite smart (Click here to see how smart they are).

Wayne
 

Hi, this is me with my daughter and my Lizard friend. I hope you enjoy my research. Please feel free to check out my "About Me" page to find out more about me.