Leopard gecko laying

My female leo has eggs for sure and it’s her first clutch, instead of two eggs she has one abnormally large egg
Do leo’s lay a clutch more towards dusk or dawn or should I be keeping an eye out all the time?
Are there methods to make laying it easier for her?
Is this actually just semi-normal for a first clutch and I’m just worried? :stuck_out_tongue:

Just worried she may become egg bound

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In almost all cases, Leopard Geckos lay exactly two eggs per clutch. She won’t lay again until her next clutch.

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yea they should, but through xray we were told she had 1 larger egg. and by lay more towards dusk or dawn I meant if she’d lay a clutch at a certain time or not

Mine lay both at night and in the morning, so I’d say just check at least twice a day. I’m not sure if there are ways to make it easier for her, but I’d just make sure she has a moist lay box. One of my females laid only one egg her very first clutch and has laid two eggs for all her others, while a different female has laid two straight away so I’d say its not unusual for first time females to lay only one egg their first clutch.

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I have one smaller female that only ever has clutches of a single egg, but that’s not common. I’ve also had it happen once with an older female. What concerns me is that you describe an egg as being abnormally large, and that you know that because of a radiograph.

Why was your gecko radiographed? Did your vet tell you that the egg was small enough for her to lay normally, or did they warn you about any risks?

If an egg is not laid or reabsorbed, then she would need surgery in order to survive. I don’t know whether eggs that are calcified enough to show up clearly on rads are able to be reabsorbed or not. If an egg is larger than normal, she may not be physically able to lay it.

I only check for eggs once a day, usually whenever I am able to get in there without disturbing the female. If you’re concerned & you have a lot of space, you could provide 2 potential, slightly different lay boxes, so the female has a choice.

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I believe that calcified eggs can’t be reabsorbed. I do not know whether or not uncalcified eggs show up on a radiograph.

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We simply took her in to a local vet, though they weren’t a specialist they had experience with leopard geckos. She had told us that the egg wasn’t fully calcified as it wasn’t showing up super well, they could find 1 larger one instead of 2, and if she was unable to lay we would have to go somewhere.

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My concern would be to watch for signs of egg yolk coelomitis. I have lost a gecko to this before.

I just hit the textbooks for a few tips. Make sure she has a laying site that is easy to access and the appropriate temperature. Also ensure she stays well hydrated.

Warning signs to watch for include lethargy/not being alert/eventually unresponsive, weight loss, and distended abdomen. My gecko vomited, but I don’t know if that’s a common sign. Though snakes can tolerate dystocia for longer times, egg binding in lizards often leads to death in a few days (that was my experience as well).

If you don’t already have one, you can find a herp vet HERE, HERE, or HERE- search for ‘Reptile & Amphibian’.

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