Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a four year old Leopard gecko who bred on April 14th and 16th, which means it's been almost seven weeks. Everything I have read says 2-5 weeks for laying. She is huge... and her behavior is erratic. Normally, she hides on the cool side of her cage for most of the day, emerges around 6-7 pm and hangs out on the warm side of her cage for the whole night, a couple of inches from her highest heat area (which hovers 90-92F). She goes back into the cool side in the morning around 7-8 am.

Last week she stopped coming out of her cool hide (which is about 78F). I raked her cage so I would be able to see tracks if she came out at all, which she did not for four nights. That meant no water or anything. I figured she was feeling vulnerable so I covered her cage with a cloth. She immediately came out and drank, and is now laying in the eggbox, but not digging or anything.

Is she just taking her time or is she egg-bound? I have been keeping geckos for ten years, but haven't bred any since my first couple of years keeping them. (I'm not good at selling my animals and so just ended up with a bunch of geckos; I only bred Boudicca b/c I plan on keeping her babies as personal pets) She is an awesome gecko, but I don't want to overreact and end up with a jacked up vet bill. What is really worrying me now is that her front legs have lost their tone. She hasn't eaten since the week after she bred.

Anyone have an idea how much surgery on a gecko runs?
Sierra

Does she still have retained eggs? You said she laid eggs. Does she have a supply of powdered calcium?

If she is declining, it warrants a vet check up.

The website below may be able to give you some insight into what's happening.

Goodluck
Link

Thanks for the reply... I've been online pretty much constantly the past two days looking up dystocias. Boudi has an appointment in the morning with a really great herp vet. I'm trying to come to grips with the fact that she will probably be undergoing surgery soon. I just hope that it's not too late, and am thankful that when I talked to my fiance this afternoon he didn't even bat an eye at the idea of surgery for her. Not bad for a guy who really didn't like my reptiles three years ago.

Boudicca hasn't laid anything yet (sorry for my wording in my original post -- I meant to say that she was resting in the egg box, but there is an absense of nesting behaviors); two eggs are very prominantly displayed in her abdomen. I have never left calcium free-choice in the cages with my geckos, do you use regular dusting powder in a dish? (it makes sense after you mention that, as my torts have always had calcium available) For the geckos, I gut load and dust their feeder insects. Normally, I dust every other feeding on my adults, but for Boudi I dusted every feeding for a few weeks before she bred. She also ate a pinky the week before she bred. After she bred, she ate a couple of crickets and one waxworm.

I am playing a waiting game now, and praying that the doc will be able to bring good news to me in about eight hours.

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Sierra
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...proudly loving and feeding...
Derby, Pele & Nikki (2.1 horses)
Diamond & Mrs Potts (1.1 bullsnakes)
Freshie & Other (1.1 boas)
Trip, Obie, Play, Roxy, Boudicca, & Squirrel (3.3 leopard geckos)
Shaun (1.0 fiance)

Good luck with your gecko. I'm sure it's not much condolence, but dystocia surgeries are actually quite fun and rewarding for the clinical staff. I"m sure she will do fine as this is getting more and more routine

Ian