After breeding just ONE TIME, a female bearded dragon is able to lay multiple clutches of eggs.  A new clutch is laid every 2-6 weeks. 

Since breeding is so stressful, Female Bearded Dragons can store sperm for extended periods of time, so that they don't have to breed multiple times.

Female dragons produce multiple clutches of 20-30 eggs after only ONE breeding session.

Healthy clutches should consist of 20-30+ oblong (oval-ish), white, firm leathery eggs.

Generally 3-6 clutches are laid in the first year, 6-8+ the second year, and then back down to 3-6 clutches the third through fifth years.

Some dragons have been reported to have laid up to 13 clutches in a year.  Others have produced clutches containing nearly 70 eggs!  Many breeders do not breed their dragons beyond year five due to decreased reliability of clutch size and quality of stock, as well as wear and tear on the female.

The female should be provided with extra calcium rich foods and supplements in order to maintain her health, weight, and fat resources.  Females also tent to want to drink more water than usual as well.  (See FAQ#5 about providing water, baths, and dehydration)

Click here for a list of appropriate and inappropriate vegetables, fruits, and insects. (The information included has been collected and compiled from multiple web and magazine resources.)

 Here are some suggestions about how to prepare a soil bin (this process is the same, whether the eggs are fertile or not):

This facilitates a less stressful experience for the female, allows her to learn to build a burrow, and you get to watch her do something really cool!

NOTE:  Yes it is okay to watch what going on.  The room should be quiet, the female should not be disturbed during the egg laying process or burrow digging, and she should not be handled unless she is in a dangerous predicament.

If she is disturbed, this could cause her to retain her eggs because she feels unsafe to lay them.  Egg retention can be fatal to the female, and the eggs could be at risk as well.

Build a temporary Egg Laying Enclosure:

In the images below, you see that we started with a 31 gallon rubber bin that we adapted into a temporary egg laying enclosure.

This is how we made it:

We used a 19qt (12” tall) clear plastic bin as the soil container for egg laying. We used wood to make a ramp for the female to climb up and a frame that the bin could sit into, so the female couldn’t fall off the edge of the soil bin.

(Note: There is also a back wall under the ramp which creates a den, and also prevents the female from getting under or behind the soil bin and getting trapped.)

Having this configuration allows us to remove the soil bin as soon as the eggs are covered back up by the female and she has left the soil bin.

We recommend providing a 12" deep container filled with moist certified-organic potting soil, to allow her to dig a burrow, the way she would in the wild.

• The Certified-Organic potting soil should be moistened and mixed to the point where if you pick up a handful and make a ball, when you let go it stays in a ball, but that there is no excess water.

• You do not want it to be muddy or soupy.

• Fill the 12” deep container with soil and pack it down lightly.

This is how the burrow digging, egg laying, and burrow covering process works: 

Bearded Dragons have no parenting responsibilities other than being healthy, breeding, laying the eggs somewhere safe, and then covering the eggs over so that predators don't notice the nest.

The female will enter the soil bin, and start digging, some first time to lay females need to be coerced into it at first.  Sometimes they’ll dig one burrow and then try again in another place. In the wild, this would be done to confuse their predators, and also to ensure that their burrow is not going to collapse on them while they’re laying.

Once the female has dug her burrow, she’ll turn around and begin to lay her eggs. She may use her feet to control where her eggs land, what orientation they are placed in, and how fast they are pushed out of her body. (See photos in FAQ#3 also)

Once she’s done laying her eggs, she’ll begin to cover them over with soil, and she’ll pack down the soil with her head and nose.  When she’s done, you’ll barely notice that there was a burrow.

The mother dragon then leaves her eggs behind to incubate for more than 2.5 MONTHS (55-75 days), during which time the eggs swell slightly as the tiny lizard grows inside.

Once she has left the soil bin, remove the bin with the soil and eggs in it. 

Replace it with an empty bin and lid, so she doesn’t fall down inside if you're using my "ramp contraption" idea.

NOTE:  When it is time for the next egg laying session (2-6 weeks later), the empty bin is filled up with soil and the process started all over again. 

If you're planning to incubate fertilized eggs follow these instructions:

WASH YOUR HANDS WELL!

Carefully excavate the eggs.  Remove the soil around the eggs in small handfulls.  Do not push on the soil too much, you don't want to damage the eggs.  When you get close to where the eggs are, remove smaller amounts of soil.   (See image at left of excavated eggs).

Wash Your Hands again before handling the eggs
 

If the eggs are fertilized, then they must be incubated at 81*F and 50% humidity for 55-75 days, if your planning to keep them.  (Please read FAQ#3 BEFORE making this decision!)

If the eggs are fertilized or you are unsure, and you don't want to keep them, you should freeze them and then discard them. 

If the eggs are not fertilized, they should be discarded.

In the wild the eggs would be left for 55-75 days to incubate, the female would not come back to check on them, would not protect the nest, and would not nurture or feed the hatchlings.

NOTE:  Many books and articles suggest that bearded dragons hatch at the same time.

Many breeders on the other hand, experience clutch hatchings over the course of 1-2 weeks in captive hatching situations, where eggs are removed from the burrow and incubated in an incubator. 

In the wild, on the other hand, when the first few dragons emerge, become active, and begin to dig their way out of the burrow, they “wake-up” the other hatchlings and inadvertently also "help" to split the remaining eggs by clambering over them in the digging process.

Once hatching time arrives (see image at right:  2 dragons hatching in upper right corner and lower left corners of image), the eggs hatch on their own, with no assistance or protection from either parent.

The hatchling dragons dig out of the burrow and take off on their own.  By hatching and emerging "at the same time" (see explanation above), they have more of a chance to escape being picked off by birds or other predators ("survival in numbers").

Hatchling dragons need to be kept in small groups according to their size and weight.  This means a lot of enclosures, equipment, expense, space, food, and cleaning for you.

Each baby bearded dragon will eat 50 or more small crickets per day, plus a mixed vegetable salad; that is a lot of crickets and a lot of salads!