Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is there anyway to tell? Lately my Saharan has become extremely jitterey and freaks out anytime I go near her enclosure. She is also getting mighty hefty.

Any signs I should be looking for?

Will post pics in a bit.

Thanks!

Here are a few pics. A little background, I got her from a pet store about a year ago. She was knocking on deaths door. She was nothing but skin and bones. After about $1000 at the Vet she was all fixed up started packing on the pounds.

So here she is. Is this just her getting fat or as is Gravid (right word?).

Thanks

Um, has there been a male present? If you got her a year ago & she's been alone, don't count on any eggs. You may just have a fat one there, Skribbs.

will lay eggs whether or not she has ever been with a male. If you keep most reptiles correctly, they will produce eggs (infertile, obviously), a lot like chickens. That's what they are designed to do.

That being said, it's difficult to tell from the pictures if the uro is gravid or just simply fat. My vote personally goes towards just being fat, but you will likely be able to tell soon enough.

If you gently take your female out and have her sit in the palm of your hand. Run your fingers gently under her abdomine. If she is gravid and not at begining stages of folicle delvelopment, you should be able to feel little ripening folicles in side of her.

Also, to me she seems fat, but pay special attention to swelling of her abdomine...after all you know your reptile better than any of us because you see her every day, so you should know if something is abnormal or not.

I also agree with the last advice given, Many female herps will lay eggs even with a male not present. So if you didn't have a pair, don't be surprized if she lays slugs, which are infertile eggs.

Happy Herping,
-Paul

Thanks for the replys. She does have a cagemate but I am 90% sure that she is also female. I'll try to get some good pictures to post to see if someone can determine for sure. I won't be taking them out for a few days though since they are both very skittish right now. Niko always has been but Red (pictures are of her) just started with this behaviour.

When I bought her she was house with another Saharan and a Mali so either of those could have male.

You can provide her with an egg box just to be safe - no sense encouraging her to get egg bound. If she is gravid, you might notice her start digging all around the cage, more than usual.

My female Saharan that laid got just massive, but not really lumpy. I couldn't feel them at all, but probably because she puffed up.

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)