# Egg bound water dragon



## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

After a little advice here, my son has a pair of Chinese water dragons that bred a few months ago but she is now a few weeks overdue for laying ( he says ). Conditions are perfect for her to lay but she won't. I was wondering if having the male in the enclosure will stop her laying...any ideas?


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Stevehill said:


> After a little advice here, my son has a pair of Chinese water dragons that bred a few months ago but she is now a few weeks overdue for laying ( he says ). Conditions are perfect for her to lay but she won't. I was wondering if having the male in the enclosure will stop her laying...any ideas?


Hi, can you give more details on the conditions, particularly the nesting site and put a few photos up of the whole enclosure? 
Thanks.


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

murrindindi said:


> Hi, can you give more details on the conditions, particularly the nesting site and put a few photos up of the whole enclosure?
> Thanks.


Yeah I'll get him to send me all that info and post it tomorrow, thanks.


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)




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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)




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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

He hasn't included temperature or humidity but I know he's really OCD about getting those right.


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Stevehill said:


> He hasn't included temperature or humidity but I know he's really OCD about getting those right.


Hi again, thanks for the pics, I can`t see a nesting area, where is it? 
Also, if the water container is for swimming/soaking I don`t see a heater?
It`s extremely important that substrate used for nesting is heated to between approx. 27 to 30c, the water should be heated to approx. 27c, too.
Edit: I`d also like to ask what type of basking bulb it is, and if it`s the one on the right where`s the basking spot? I can see the dragon sitting on the branch on the left near the (UVB?) tube.


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

The nesting area is the substrate under the water container, he has a piece of hardboard to give it some privacy and a heat mat under it. I'll ask about the water temperature and the basking bulb / spot. Thanks for your help so far.

Update - the nesting substrate is levington (?) Soil and sand, he was told to use that by someone on Google. The bulb is a 60 watt basking light from the local pet shop. I've told him to provide a better basking spot, apart from that the temperatures seem OK. What do you think about removing the male for a while?


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Stevehill said:


> The nesting area is the substrate under the water container, he has a piece of hardboard to give it some privacy and a heat mat under it. I'll ask about the water temperature and the basking bulb / spot. Thanks for your help so far.
> 
> Update - the nesting substrate is levington (?) Soil and sand, he was told to use that by someone on Google. The bulb is a 60 watt basking light from the local pet shop. I've told him to provide a better basking spot, apart from that the temperatures seem OK. What do you think about removing the male for a while?


What are the small white things I can see in the substrate and exactly how deep is it, is it firmly tamped down and what are the temps from bottom to top? 
I doubt very much the female hasn`t deposited eggs because of the male`s presence (you can remove him if you wish), it`s much more likely that the nesting isn`t acceptable, in which case there`s a very real risk of death from reproductive failure. Personally if she`s overdue to any great extent I would see a vet asap.
What are the ambient and surface temps and humidity range and how are they being measured?


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

Ok, air temp is 30 at the top, 28 half way down and about 24,25 at the bottom, humidity fluctuates between 50 and 80 percent and the stuff in the substrate is sand. I've told him to tamp the substrate down a bit and contact a vet just in case. He's taken the male out for the last 24 hours and says she seems a lot more relaxed.


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Stevehill said:


> Ok, air temp is 30 at the top, 28 half way down and about 24,25 at the bottom, humidity fluctuates between 50 and 80 percent and the stuff in the substrate is sand. I've told him to tamp the substrate down a bit and contact a vet just in case. He's taken the male out for the last 24 hours and says she seems a lot more relaxed.


You haven`t said how deep the substrate is or what the substrate temps are from the bottom to the top, also are you sure the white dots aren't perlite mixed in with the soil when your son bought it (they look too big to be grains of sand)? 
What type of hygrometer/thermometer/other is being used to measure the ambient and surface temps plus the humidity range ("surface temp" means the surface of the object the animals bask on, not the air temp).


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

This is basking area surface.

More to follow!


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

This is the surface of the nest area.


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

This is 4 inches inside the nesting substrate, which is 8 inches deep in total. He assures me the white bits in the soil are just lumps of sand. He has also firmed the area down. She spent over an hour in the nesting area earlier, which is something she hasn't done before, but she still didn't lay.


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Stevehill said:


> This is 4 inches inside the nesting substrate, which is 8 inches deep in total. He assures me the white bits in the soil are just lumps of sand. He has also firmed the area down. She spent over an hour in the nesting area earlier, which is something she hasn't done before, but she still didn't lay.


Can you ask him if he`s any idea how many days it is that she`s been clearly gravid? 
I take it the hygrometer has probes, and while they are fairly accurate the best instrument for checking basking surface temps is a digital "Temp-gun", you can get them on eBay for around £10. Because there is no solid basking object under the basking bulb, where is the temp being taken exactly?
Apart from the substrate being heated to between approx 27 to 30c it also needs to be a suitable in terms of material/texture etc as far as the dragon`s concerned which obviously is the tricky part, we cannot say it`s "perfect" at all!


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

Yeah I'll ask him how long but he reckons she's about a fortnight overdue, not sure how he worked that out though. He's now provided a branch for basking about a foot directly below the lamp. What material would you suggest is best for the nest?
Yes the thermometer has probes.


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Stevehill said:


> Yeah I'll ask him how long but he reckons she's about a fortnight overdue, not sure how he worked that out though. He's now provided a branch for basking about a foot directly below the lamp. What material would you suggest is best for the nest?
> Yes the thermometer has probes.


If she is 2 weeks overdue its not a good sign at all, I still recommend a vet visit asap.
The surface of the basking object/s needs to be around 35c, and a Temp-gun is the best way to measure that as I mentioned earlier, so where was the basking surface temp taken?
I cannot say what material is best for nesting other than a soil/playsand mix, maybe 70% soil to 30% sand, very slightly moist and well tamped down, he could also add some leaves either mixed in or on the top (coir is o.k, too). I think it`s probably too late to get a suitable nest site in place this time (I hope I`m wrong)!


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## Stevehill (Nov 29, 2015)

The basking temperature was taken on the surface of the branch he's provided just below the lamp. He's also put some moss down in the nesting area, I'll tell him to dampen it a little, it sounds like his substrate is ok but I think he's having trouble finding a local vet that can deal with this as we live in the sticks.
Thanks for all your help, will keep you posted.


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