Reptile & Amphibian Forums

looking some info to ackies laying clutchs, she laid this egg on mar 5th and hasnt laid rest yet still in nest box though and ideas or thoughts
thanks

What you can do? The time to get nesting right is before they start to nest, mucking with her now may make things worse.

It is possible she dumped infertiles and ate some of them. I have noticed girls seem to be willing to eat their own infertiles. You will see if that's the case, as they do not seem to be able to digest the shell.

Sometimes you just need to have faith, and let the monitor work it out. If you think she's crashing, then a vet visit may be in order.

--Robert

Looking on the bright side, somethings the little buggers lay a good clutch, then lay the last egg in another spot. I understand you have a nest box and I am sure you looked there. Please consider, even if you wrote the words, NEST BOX, on it, the monitor does not understand its a nest box. Its just something. So look all over the entire cage.

I have recomended this many times before and many a time the keepers found eggs were they were not suppose to be. What this tells you is, your nest box is not a nest box, but just a box.

On the otherhand, if she is holding the eggs and cannot pass them, seek a vet. The cause of this is most likely the same as the above. The nest box is not a nest box, its just a box. A box only becomes a nest box, after a beautiful hatchable clutch is laid in a timely manner, in it.

I have had hundreds upon hundreds of ackie clutches and never had a female lay one egg. Cheers

i found 3 more somewhere else today the first day i found her she was laying them in the nest box she dug an hole and was backed up in it. this was her first clutch at an year of age. maybe i spooked her ? glad she passed them, 2 are incubating now, there were 3 total i found they wernt small either 5 grams and at 1 1/4" long

Ackies can and do reproduce starting at about 6 months of age. Althought a year is very normal. Congrats on that.

Backing into a burrow is NOT normal and is a sign that the nesting is inferior. As is the laying of eggs in different spots. Normally they dig tunnels a long distance into the substrate, at least several times their total lenght and as much as several meters, to nest. Then place all the eggs in a chamber. Again shallow nesting is not a good sign.

Also in my experience the first clutches are the best, as we have not had time to screw them up yet. No worries, I can screw them up a well as the next guy.

There are three basics elements effecting nesting, instint, learning, and choices. The younger individuals are relying on instint. The older individuals are relying on instint and knowledge of whats available. The problem is, as they age, they learn that they cannot succeed so they stop trying to do it right. So they dump the eggs easily. Again, the young ones try very hard.

Remember, monitors are not human, they do not have classes to teach them something, they have instint and then fit that into their enviornment, hopefully they fit, if it doesn't, they perish. It really is about that simple.

I am saying this because so many people want to blame it on youth or inexperience of the monitors, which is totally not true.

Your doing well, just keep working on something that better fits your monitors. Cheers

thanks frank, im going to change there caging so i can get deeper substrate for them going to use an metal trough for them and get away from next boxs

You can get nest boxes to work, if your conditions or better yet, where you live is suitable.

For instance, its so hot here, that anything above the surface of the ground is far too hot. If you live somewhere wheres its cold all the dang time. You can get a suitable hot spot and not heat the whole surface. In our cages, above the surface is always or at least most of the time above mid eighties(nesting temps)

If mine would always nest in the winter, I could use boxes, but they don't, they nest winter, spring, summer, and fall. And why would I want to stop them?

How they live in nature is much closer to our conditions. Most every day in nature, much of the day is to hot to be on the surface. What that means is, they naturally(instint) know how to use below the surface or burrowing into the ground, as opposed to nesting above the ground. Of course you can fool them into doing that, but the question becomes why? Sooner or later, you get tired of faking the animals into doing something not natural to them, so you get rid of them. Cheers