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This is probably the best argument for keeping igs free roaming or housing them in very large (wide AND tall) enclosures with lots of branches and other climbing apparatus. |
The iguana does not begin to "show" until the last couple of weeks of the gestation period. (Which lasts a total of two months.)
She will be getting fatter with the eggs as she is losing weight, so she won't look much different, albeit her belly and sides will be more taut. You will be able to feel some of the eggs along her sides before they are developed enough for you to be able to see them. Generally, a row of two eggs on each side will be felt.
Preparing the Egging Box
Females dig burrows underground and excavate a small cavern in which they lay their eggs. They then back out and back fill the cavern and burrow. Interestingly enough, many females reuse the same cavern year after year, and there are recorded instances of more than one female using the same cavern, digging separate burrows to get in....
You need to recreate the digging area by making an egging box, a place for her to dig a burrow and lay her eggs in a cavern.
Depending upon the size of the iguana, two huge kitty-litter pans, placed rim-to-rim and duct taped together, with an access hole cut in one end of the upper pan, will do the trick for a smaller iguana (say 10-12" snout-to-vent length). Larger iguanas will require a larger area... one of those squarish outdoor garbage cans (made of plastic, with a lid) work well as they can be laid on their side and not roll around. Duct tape the lid to the can, and cut an access hole at the highest point (which will be in the side of the lid). Essentially, any large, water- or moisture-proof container which you can keep warm, provide an access hole for the iguana but keep it closed enough so that all the excavated dirt doesn't come flying out, and can easily get into yourself to later remove the eggs, will do.
Needless to say, you need to fill the egging box with the proper digging medium before taping it shut. What you need to achieve is soil which you can easily push but which will stay in place when you take your hand away. Too hard, and the iguana can't dig; too loose, and it falls back into the burrow or cavern. I have found the following proportions to work quite well:
14 parts sterile potting soil (from peat, available from nurseries) 1 part sterile sand (From nurseries, or playground sand from hardware stores) 9 cups of warm water
Mix thoroughly together, and test. If it falls back, add more water. If too damp/gloppy/heavy, add more soil or sand.
This can be quite heavy when you have almost-filled a garbage can with this mixture, so be prepared with a dolly or a hand-truck, or prepare it where you are going to be leaving it. If the iguana's enclosure is large enough, then place the egg box in side in a warm area. The box needs to be placed in a quiet warm area. A spare bedroom or closet works well. Place a heating pad under the egg-laying container or direct a basking light on it (making sure not to melt the plastic!). (To make as much privacy as possible to reduce stress, hang a cloth over that part of the enclosure so the iguana cannot see out.)
Introduce your iguana to the container. Hold her up to the opening, let her sniff/taste and look, and then put her down. When she is ready, and if you have prepared the soil/sand mixture properly and the area is quiet and warm, she will go to work. (If she is already going crazy trying to dig through the floor and other surfaces, she is ready.)
It can take 10 hours or so to lay all the eggs; number of eggs varies from 12-40+, with older/bigger ones laying more. First year layers can lay 18 or so, so don't be fooled by the size of the iguana.
Once she lays, she will drag herself out and collapse on her basking area (or set one up for her nearby, with a bowl of water, and introduce it to her at the same time as you do the egg box). Keep an eye/ear out to see when she is done, then be ready with some comfort food for her - she is going to look like a skeleton. I steam brussels sprouts for a couple of minutes until they are bright green, and slice them up and put in a shallow jar lid. I will hand feed her some, then leave her with the plate. Feed lots of high calcium foods, and be generous with the calcium supplements for the next couple of weeks. By the end of the month after laying, she should begin to look like her old self.
If your iguana shows signs of twitching, jerky gait or difficulty using her back legs at any time during the gestation or after she has laid, get her to a veterinarian for Calcitonin injections of Neo-Calglucon supplementation. Incubating the Eggs
If your female has mated with a male, then there is a chance that the eggs are fertile; iguanas can produce eggs without being around males but, just like chicken eggs, they are not fertile.
If there is the possibility of fertile eggs, you can begin putting together an incubator to have it ready before the end of the gestation period. Handling the Eggs
Our fingers, no matter how recently we washed our hands, are full of oils and bacteria (beneficial to us, but bacteria just the same) which can harm the eggs. Before handling them at any time during the transfer and incubation process, wear surgical gloves.
Iguana eggs, like most reptile eggs, are white, ovoid (elliptical rather than round) and slightly soft or leathery rather than hard and brittle like a bird egg. Pick up gently at the ends of the egg, and avoid squeezing.
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