Posted by:
jobi
at Tue Jan 16 00:32:12 2007 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by jobi ]
A very important question that only your lizards can answer! One thing I have learn thru the years with reptiles, working with them is always different, I could tell you exactly how I do it, but when you apply my way to your animals it may fail, this is because theirs to many variables to control.
The best way is to start with a base, and work from there by watching how your lizards are progressing. The key to good husbandry is support, to support a lizards physiological needs is to offer usable temps and hydration, tools he physically needs like logs, branches or rocks to rest or heat on, substrate the lizard recognise and use.
Support is also about feeding, this seems simple enough but theirs many ways of feeding, depending on what you want to achieve, theirs maintenance feeding when lizards are separated or at rest, theirs conditioning feeding when you want your females to cycle, and there’s trigger feeding when you want to create a breeding frenzy, then theirs feeding of a gravid female, she needs consistence and devotion from a keeper, this is where the calcium and vitamins really matters.
Maybe you guys got this covered, where you are failing is at nesting, first make sure she’s feeding and drinking until nesting time, then you have all the evidence you need that something is wrong, when she digs without nesting, this is when you make changes in your temps or substrate, to fine tune nesting with any species takes time and efforts on the keepers part, and once you nailed it good, you realise theirs no one single factor but a multitude of events that leads you to make life saving decisions and changes. This is experience, you can’t get this from a book or the net, trials and errors is the rout for success, I can only help a little but your lizards can help a lot, they know what they need and will let you know if you allow them.
Before a lizard dies he shows symptoms, reading these symptoms is the job of a keeper, surly a gravid female will show sings of distress long before dieing, mine will feed or drink less then usual, if I have to I will assist feed and drink at this point. Once she starts digging she’s due, if it doesn’t happen then, monitor the conditions and make changes. In any case such a female must be alone in one cage until she nest.
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