They start with signs of egg production then in a few days they are back to normal. They get fat, dont eat as much then they are gone. If your husbandry is off when this happens they can have difficulties and not lay or absorb them, for this they need surgery to remove them. I found this with Sobek the hard way, make sure you have the right substrate before they are start this process, Sobek absorbed 2 times then when she was switched between 2 cages (smaller to larger), when I switched her to another larger cage I experimented with dirt types at the wrong time. None the less she cycled, the dirt was wrong, she wouldnt dig in it, became internally dehydrated, I started to switch out that dirt (stuff from the store, organic topsoil) to dirt from a creek bank, at that point it doesnt matter, the nesting and substrate have to be right before it happens.
Luckily I found a good vet that has corrected this problem before, she came out of surgery with flying colors and ate daily starting the morning after surgery, a testament to her health and very strong physical condition. She has no ovaries now so this is not a problem for her.

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