While keeping bearded dragons, one day you might find that your female bearded dragon has laid eggs even without mating. This might make you think how did she lay eggs? Will there be babies? What do you need to do now?
Female bearded dragons can ovulate and lay infertile eggs at certain times of the year. During spring, the female bearded dragons have the highest hormonal level and can lay several clutches of infertile eggs.
Now you might be confused about infertile eggs and have lots of questions in mind. Let’s get them answered.
What Is Infertile Eggs?
Like many birds and reptiles, the female bearded dragons can lay eggs even without mating with a male. These eggs never give born to a baby bearded dragon. That’s why these eggs are called infertile eggs.
For babies to born, the female bearded dragon needs to mate with the male bearded dragon. So if you are keeping only a single female bearded dragon and discover eggs in the enclosure, think of those as infertile eggs.
Infertile eggs should be removed from the cage as they can deteriorate and cause very bad odor.
One common example of infertile eggs can be chicken eggs. The chicken eggs we eat are mostly infertile eggs. They are collected from a chicken farm where the chickens are generally not kept with a rooster. So these eggs will never give birth to a baby chicken.
How Female Bearded Dragons Lay Infertile Eggs?
If your female bearded dragon has reached sexual maturity and receives enough nutrition & care, she will typically start to lay eggs. Bearded dragons can lay several clutches of eggs at a single time. Whether the matured female bearded dragon has mated with a male or not, you should get ready to see eggs from her.
With that being said, the female bearded dragon can also lay fertile eggs without the presence of a man. How you ask? Well, the answer is quite interesting.
Female beardies can store the sperm of a male beardie for up to a year. So, she can use that stored sperm to make the eggs fertilized.
Suppose your bearded dragon was kept in a male-female enclosure in the shop and she mated there. Now, you got her and after a few months saw some eggs. There can be a good chance that the eggs are fertilized because in the shop, the female beardie might have mated with the male and used that stored sperm to fertilize the eggs.
So, there is only one sure way to check whether the eggs are fertilized or infertile.
What Do Infertile Bearded Dragon Eggs Look Like?
From an external visual perspective, the fertile and infertile bearded dragon eggs can look the same. Sometimes, the infertile eggs will have a dent on them and look yellowish. The fertile eggs will start to develop an embryo after a couple of weeks. The infertile eggs will have no embryo.
To check whether the bearded dragon egg is fertile or infertile, you need to wait for at least a couple of weeks. This will give the egg enough time to develop embryo (in case the egg is fertile).
Now, pick up the egg very carefully. Don’t rotate the egg or make sudden movement (It can Carry Life!). Now, put the egg against a torchlight.
In case of fertile egg, you should see an embryo inside the egg with visible veins. Infertile eggs will show you nothing. This is the only reliable test according to me.
What To Do If Bearded Dragon Lay Infertile Eggs?
There is no benefit in keeping the infertile eggs as they’ll soon start to rot and stink. So, the only thing you can do is discard those infertile eggs.
I have heard that some bearded dragons might eat those eggs and regain some of the strength it has lost during the egg laying process. But I don’t think that’s necessary and I’ll recommend throwing away the infertile eggs.
Can You Hatch Infertile Bearded Dragon Eggs?
You cannot hatch infertile bearded dragon eggs. Infertile eggs have no embryo inside them. So, there’s nothing to hatch.
Infertile eggs only happen when the male has not mated with the female bearded dragon. The eggs need male’s sperm in order to be fertile and ready for giving birth. So, there’s no way you can hatch infertile bearded dragon eggs.
How Often Do Bearded Dragons Lay Infertile Eggs?
During the mating season, a female bearded dragon can lay typically 1 to 5 clutches of infertile eggs over the course of a whole season. Each clutch typically consists of 10 to 36 eggs at a time.
There is actually no way yet to determine how many times a female bearded dragon will lay infertile eggs without mating with a male. I have seen some female beardies that haven’t laid eggs a single time.
On the other hand, after scouring through the internet, I have seen that some female bearded dragons even laid 5 clutches of infertile eggs over the course of a single season. So, I can’t give you a bulletproof number. But expect the number to be between 1 to 5.
Should I Remove Infertile Bearded Dragon Eggs?
You should remove the infertile eggs from the enclosure. It’s because these infertile eggs can start to rot very quickly and they stink really bad.
How Many Infertile Eggs Can A Bearded Dragon Lay?
A bearded dragon can typically lay 1 to 5 clutches of infertile eggs over the course of a breeding season with 10 to 36 infertile eggs per clutch.
Do Female Bearded Dragons Have Periods?
Female bearded dragons don’t have periods but they can ovulate and lay infertile eggs at certain times of the year. During spring, the female bearded dragons have the highest hormonal level and can lay several clutches of infertile eggs.
