Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 4 year old condros breed last june and nothing ever came from it. now this time she breed about three weeks ago and I cant tell if shes gravid or not. so will she retain the sperm till she ovulates or will they have to mate again ? for now I guess I will wait till she sheds and put in a egg laying box and see what happens..I would appreciate all the help I can get.thanks.

JIM

Jim,
Keep pairing your chondros together until they lose interest in each other. When females become gravid, they sometimes take on a blueish hue along with a flattened look to the head. What temps did you cool them to? How long were they cooled. Is the female still eating? Usually a female will start fasting about 30 days or so before ovulating. At this time, they will either lay good eggs or unfertilized ovum. Keep trying.......my original pair bred for six months straight with nothing. The following year was a success. Keep us posted.

Brandon Osborne

she has not wanted to eat for three weeks or so, but she still looks like she has a couple rats in her..they were both cooled from mid october to mid december , at about 55 to 65 degrees. is this good ? thanks .

JIM

In my opinion, those cycling temps are way too cool. I have had good success only dropping the temps to 70.

I agree with Marcial on that.

Although chondros can handle lower temperatures than many people think, the temperatures you have listed were too low to keep them at for a long period, in my opinion. Were you giving them their normal daytime basking areas during this period or keeping at the 55-65 constantly?

My pair was "cooled" down into the low 70s at night this past fall and winter, that was plenty to get them stimulated and get my girl gravid(she's entering her prelay shed now). Some nights my house got cooler and hit the high 60s, but these nights were few and far between, so didn't cause any damage. But dropping them constantly into the 55-65 range could possibly cause a whole range of problems, URI being a big one.

Either way, I hope your pair is doing alright now and I hope the copulations were successful. But keep the pair together until the male loses interest and the female stops eating. As I've learned that is probably your best indicator that mating has been successful.
Arboreal Addictions dot Com

there doing great and I will keep the temp above 69 degrees next time. there both not eating now and the male doesnt seem to be interested in the female at all..the female still looks heavy but only in her middle not much twards her tail. does someone have some pictures of a female ready to lay eggs ? thanks.

JIM

Jim,

I am not sure how much help this will be, but here is a picture of my gravid female chondro due to lay eggs in the next couple of weeks.

Arboreal Addictions dot Com