Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have never had a female pit or any other species for that matter take so long before she felt comfortable enough to lay her eggs as this jani was with this clutch.
After her pre egg laying shed she rested over the heat for 3 or 4 days and then began the two plus week non stop search for the proper spot. She had a large nest box in her cage with moist spagnum moss, not too moist or to dry, I thought with one end of it in the low 80's and the other in the mid 70's but she continued to search for 2 plus weeks as though it would just not do. I have had restless females before but this girl literally did not stop to rest AT ALL for 2 solid weeks. I was starting to worry she would wear herself out and have no energy left to lay. Finally I set up another nest box the same way as the other but with spagnum moss from another bag (a different brand but both were fresh when set up), moved the other one she seemed not to like over and put the new one in the same spot the other was in. Same amount of moisture, same temps and in the same friggin place. What do you know but she crawled in that sucker and started laying in about 2 hours. She layed 15 good eggs and 2 duds. The eggs, as you can see have a little darker yellow color than usual and some had wrinkles and mashed ends as if they had been held too long but still appear to be perfectly fine.
I just found this unusual and was curious if any of you have had similar experiences. It's interesting to me how as a mother they can sometimes seem to be so very picky as to where they lay their precious eggs.
The last two years she went into the same setup first placed into her cage this year, with the same brand spagnum moss and layed her eggs in about a week with little restlessness but this year that was not about to work. Randy W.

randy, i'm just guessing but perhaps there was something 'off' about the original moss that you couldn't detect but she could? had it been sitting around for awhile?.......here's a pic of one of your 03 children whose about to become a parent as well. congrats on the jani eggs!

Hey Dan, I figured she most likely didn't like something about the moss too. It was a fresh bag.
I'm glad that girl is doing good and producing for you. I have big clutches of 11 to 16 out of that line each year so hopefully she will lay a fat clutch for you. Later, Randy

I'm having the EXACT same problem with one of my bulls. Its been almost two weeks since her shed and she's just restless all the time. She hangs out in the nest box from time to time though. I'm starting to worry about her. Should I try a different egg laying medium? How about vermeculite?

I have seen people use vermeculite but I have always preferred spagnum moss myself for egg laying.
The second box my jani finally layed in was just a different brand of spagnum moss in a freshly cleaned container and it worked for some reason. The first container I used had just had eggs laid in it by a beauty snake and the more I think about it that could have been the scent she didn't like but who knows for sure. I have used the same egg box full of moss more than once in a season before if still clean with no problems but might reconsider it in the future. Randy

She still hasn't laid. I put her in a new cage with three different lay boxes, I bought a new bag of moss too and even some new boxes, and added some more heat to her cage. All she does is lay under the heat and occasionally dig around in a box. This picture if from the 19th, exactly one week after she shed. I don't know what else to do but wait.

I knew she would do that now that finally posted about it!


One egg is kind of nasty. At first I thought it was a slug (on the right) but it firm to the touch so I'm crossing my fingers.

Congrats!

One of my Cal King clutches (14 eggs) didn't look so good.
Two worst looking eggs died and one of the mediocre looking eggs died - other mediocre eggs and the really good looking eggs all doing swell. That clutch is 1/4 way through now and I think the remaining 11 are all going to make it.

-=-
Anyway, hopefully all your eggs make it. That one doesn't look to good but it might.
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3.6 L. getula californiae - 16 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

yeah, you know how it goes randy. i'd say almost half the time my females lay behind the nest box instead of in it. my human females baffle me about half the time as well. LOL! have a nice holiday & a great season! here's another babe from matt turner, an 06 crumbley. this one definitely has a mind of her own......& it's mostly on food!!