Hi Mike, let me take a long at this.

I do congratulate you on your success with this species, and you did a heck of a job.

But did you not lose your female? Is so, what caused it?

My point is, five nestings is not enough to actually understand what is going on. Also how many females?

You see, you may want to make theories over, one situation what was marginally successful.

In my opinion, your female nested shallow because thats the only place she found suitable. And because, she only laid five clutches, it may have have only been good enough to support those five clutches.

Just to make it a bit real, I produced well over a hundred lacies, from four females, some laying five clutches a year, AND I STILL DID NOT HAVE NESTING RIGHT. As I lost each and every female to early reproductive failure. Some well over that five clutch thing.

Do you measure success with 15 hatchlings, or a dead female. Again, I congratulate you on your success, but I would hesitate to call them shallow nesters.

ALso, nesting is very conditional and genetic. Of the over twenty something species of all manner. All nested deep. And yes, I had a few nest shallow(and hatch) But shallow nesting was not normal. It only occurred when I did not have the conditions to support good nesting.

Lastly our record for one female was over 80 clutches. In that case, I think I got it right. Of course, that is very very much an extreme. But I would think the larger monitors should produce easily over 25 clutches in a lifetime.

So if your supported a female to achieve something around or close to normal, Then I would call that good nesting, or normal nesting.

Again, I congratulate you on your success. Thanks and best wishes

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