Help! She laid an egg!

[morts]

I asked for help earlier in tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=behavior&action=display&thread=1083668993 this thread about my iguana's appetite, and the general consensus seemed to be that she was gravid. Well, I came home from school today and there was an egg in her cage. Since this is her first year, is it possible that it'll be the only one? I have an egg-laying site prepared out of an outdoor garbage can but she'll just dig in it a little before leaving to run around the room some more. I just want to get my baby's life back to normal.

[Lyn]

You want to keep an eye on her...she definitely will lay more eggs...if nothing happens I would say within a day or so...a vet visit is in order...for xrays to check for retained eggs and possible spaying....good luck and let us know what happens...increase her intake of calcium , she will need it after this....Lyn

[Merlin]

When Zok went thru her first season she laid 1 egg. Then a few days later she laid another and a few days later 1 more. At the end of about 2 weeks she laid 26 more on her basking shelf. Mind you I was in constant communiccation with my vet through the whole thing. You are going to get more. I second what Lyn told you you need to have a vet look at her and at the very least show you what to look for as signs of trouble. This is a very dangerous time in her life and if things get complicated you could lose her! Be VERY careful in handling her so that you don't rupture one of the internal eggs. That is very bad! In fact if you don't have to handle her,... don't!

[Tesa]

morts??
How's your girl doing??
I'm worried for her..........

[morts]

Well she laid the one on Friday, and last night when I was trying to sleep she kept digging in a corner of her cage. I put her in the nest we made and went to sleep on the couch. This morning, we found 38 more eggs in her cage (apparently she didn't like the nest). We took them all away and we're going to completely replace the plastic sheet from the bottom of her cage that she ripped up. She had a bath and a few bites of comfort food, but she's acting like she's still trying to cover up the eggs in the corner even though they're not there anymore. I'm not sure I should replace her plastic sheet until she's done with this behavior, lest she rip another one up. This is the one gravidity-related behavior I haven't read about, and it kinda has me worried, especially since everyone in the house has to work today.

[prism_wolf]

I strongly suggest getting an x-ray done to make sure she is done. Sometimes they can retain eggs and the results can be deadly. The girl I adopted out had laid 54 eggs for me. Your's may be done, but you need to be sure,

[morts]

I'm still kinda worried about her appetite, but despite not eating much she's taken major poops the last few days like I've never seen before. We force-fed her a bit today, and otherwise she's acting normally.

We haven't done a vet visit, since my parents are worried about the cost. How necessary is it?

[Merlin]

If there are still eggs inside and they rupture or rot it could be the end of your iguana. Once they lay the eggs they should start to chow down to replace what they lose in the gravid period. After Zok lays you would think she was a vacuum cleaner! The fact that she still hasn't started eating concerns me. I strongly suggest you talk to your vet.

[morts]

We called the vet to make an appointment today but he said they can sometimes continue laying over the course of a week. He said that we should call again on Tuesday if she isn't eating normally by then.