are duds, I guess. 4 started to cave in after a couple of days and now they look awful. And #5 has a small dimple today, so I imagine it is going to follow suit. I don't think humidity is the problem. I have them in a hovabator at 83F in vermiculite. I've checked the moisture a couple of times a day and added water when I thought I needed to. In the last few days since the eggs seemed to be caving and shriveling I have even added a bit more moisture than I had been.
And poor Mariah....She just had the eggs last week, on Thursday, but this week on Tuesday I saw her and Hoboken mating. (And yes, he did seem to get it right this time! Maybe he just needed some practice aiming.) She is gaining weight really fast and eating like a horse. I hope she isn't working on another clutch so soon! Is that even possible?
Meanwhile, the 2 older yellow-headed girls seem to still be protesting ovulation. I visited their home over Memorial Day weekend and saw probably 20 of their relatives, but out of probably 7 females only one was showing gravid colors. I'm not sure what to make of that. I assumed my girls are not gravid because I didn't brumate anyone, and also that maybe females in/from that area are programmed to start a bit later. I assumed the warmer the climate, the sooner lizards come out and females become gravid, and that they have more clutches due to a longer warm season. But, I have to question that theory since I caught my 3rd yellow-headed girl, baby Celeste, at the same place on April 15th. She was under a rock, but since she pooped on my hand, I know she was not brumating there and had already been out, and eating. I probably think too much, but it is certainly interesting to observe them in the wild. And I love the fact that I can drive just a few miles and be doing just that.
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Valerie Rae
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--
God bless the USA
