Egg binding

[crayolaskies]

What exactly is egg binding? The reason I'm asking is because two of my females are ovulating and I'm starting to see the eggs develop. Neither of them have been bred this season. Is it an issue I need to worry about?

 

[Jeanne]

Egg binding is when a female has eggs in her and won't lay them for what ever reason, usually stress.

Your females will probably lay the eggs and they will be infertile. As long as she lays them within about 2 to 4 weeks after seeing them, then you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Brian O]

Lack of calcium could also cause it.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Egg binding can be caused by several factors, the most common being:

- the female is too young and/or small to lay eggs
- the eggs are too big (usually infertiles)
- because she doesn't have an appropriate place to lay the eggs
- low calcium levels, inadequate supplementation
- stress
- uterine inertia

In the 11 years I have been breeding leos, I have only had 3 cases of egg-binding, and all required surgery. The cause in two cases was uterine inertia... the females' uterus simply could not contract in order go into labor. In both cases, the females had laid over 10 clutches and were at the end of the season.

As long as your females are still eating and are not restless or digging, they are not ready to lay their eggs yet. The key is to watch for with egg-binding are signs of lethargy, inappetence, weight loss, and straining.

 

[crayolaskies]

Thanks, I will definitely keep an eye out for those things. About the laying area, is the humid hide a proper place to lay the eggs? Also, will the females continue to lay infertiles all season long or will there just be one clutch?

 

[LeoGeckos]

I had a bit of a run in with an egg bound female. It got to be about 1.5 months since she developed her eggs and she still had not laid. I was getting very nervous about her and she started to lose some weight. I was going to have the vet do surgery to take them out but he told me to just wait it out. She finally laid them after 2.5 months. So, dont panic if the gecko doesnt lay the eggs in the default 2-4 weeks. I think some gecko owners get to anxious when their female is not laying when she should. Some things you could do is syringe feed her water with calcium and give warm baths to try and get her to lay the eggs. Good luck!