# Egg bound females!!



## VARNYARD (Mar 15, 2008)

There are some rumors going around about egg binding in female tegus, and these are females kept alone. 

I want to ease some minds here, I have never seen a female tegu that has gotten egg bound, and never seen a female produce eggs without being with a male.


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## angelrose (Mar 15, 2008)

:thyo for the info. I was going to ask about that now that my Angel is at least 3 yrs. so when the f/m args get older she will lay eggs ?
I had an iguana and took her to the vet down in philadelphia twice because she got egg bound. the vet operated and thought he got the ovary the first time but the following year she got egg bound again and the vet said it is hard to take the ovary completely because of a vein/artery that runs by their and has to be very careful. at the same time he was very amazed at the size of the eggs and there were 51 of them. and I was amazed at the cost both times :shock: :-D


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## VARNYARD (Mar 15, 2008)

angelrose said:


> :thyo for the info. I was going to ask about that now that my Angel is at least 3 yrs. so when the f/m args get older she will lay eggs ?
> I had an iguana and took her to the vet down in philadelphia twice because she got egg bound. the vet operated and thought he got the ovary the first time but the following year she got egg bound again and the vet said it is hard to take the ovary completely because of a vein/artery that runs by their and has to be very careful. at the same time he was very amazed at the size of the eggs and there were 51 of them. and I was amazed at the cost both times :shock: :-D



Nope, never had a tegu lay without a male. I know many species do, but never seen it in tegus.


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## shiftylarry (Mar 15, 2008)

I don't know about tegus, but it's a problem with other lizards. That's why I always provide my lizards with substrate, so they have plenty of nesting options just in case.

What do you think caused that evolution you are suggesting in tegus?


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## VARNYARD (Mar 15, 2008)

shiftylarry said:


> I don't know about tegus, but it's a problem with other lizards. That's why I always provide my lizards with substrate, so they have plenty of nesting options just in case.
> 
> What do you think caused that evolution you are suggesting in tegus?



I think it is based on the species, tegus are just a species that is not known to become egg bound. Tegus are new world lizards as well, unlike monitors that are old world lizards. Many species found on the Americas are considered new world lizards. The only types of new world lizards that I know of that are known to get egg bound are Iguanids, this family contains the curlytails, swifts, anoles, and iguanas as well as a few others. These are found in North America to South America and on the islands of Fiji and Madagascar.

Many of the old world lizards also have problems with this, they are found on continents of Africa, Asia, and Australia. This group includes the agamids, monitors, chameleons and lacertidae.

One thing that is rather strange is, there is at least one species of Teiidae found in the western United States that needs no male to reproduce. Tegus are also a member of the Teiidae family, however they do need a male as far as we have found so far.


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## DZLife (Mar 15, 2008)

VARNYARD said:


> shiftylarry said:
> 
> 
> > I don't know about tegus, but it's a problem with other lizards. That's why I always provide my lizards with substrate, so they have plenty of nesting options just in case.
> ...




Can you provide me with the name of that species? I would love to go on a little scavenger hunt to find some info on that lizard!


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## shiftylarry (Mar 15, 2008)

Bobby, I know this isn't tegu related, but I'd like to add that there have been several instances where female Komodo dragon and Argus Monitor females have laid fertile eggs without any contact with a male. Because lizard females have all Z chromosomes, the offspring are always male.

Cool stuff.

-Chris


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## DZLife (Mar 16, 2008)

shiftylarry said:


> Bobby, I know this isn't tegu related, but I'd like to add that there have been several instances where female Komodo dragon and Argus Monitor females have laid fertile eggs without any contact with a male. Because lizard females have all Z chromosomes, the offspring are always male.
> 
> Cool stuff.
> 
> -Chris



I believe tat I posted a link to one of these stories a while back


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## VARNYARD (Mar 16, 2008)

That is awesome as well!!

Well really there are at least 12 unisexual species. However, it was the Texas spotted whiptail (C. gularis) that I was refering to. These are whiptails and are members of the Teiidae family just like tegus. Some others are the desert grassland whiptail (C. uniparens), the little striped whiptail (C. inornatus), and the Laredo striped whip-tail (C. laredoensis).


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## Mike (Mar 16, 2008)

I have a striped whiptail (it appears female) that has been hibernating for a while now, I can't wait for it to wake up. There's a lot of them around here in the summer.


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## DZLife (Mar 16, 2008)

VARNYARD said:


> That is awesome as well!!
> 
> Well really there are at least 12 unisexual species. However, it was the Texas spotted whiptail (C. gularis) that I was refering to. These are whiptails and are members of the Teiidae family just like tegus. Some others are the desert grassland whiptail (C. uniparens), the little striped whiptail (C. inornatus), and the Laredo striped whip-tail (C. laredoensis).



Hey, Mike has a whiptail! It's a litttle itty bitty one though.


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