Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I hear all kinds of things about absorbing eggs and egg binding in females. What is the deal? How can I keep this from happening to my females (if any are female) if it even is a problem at all? what causes it ? I don't have even the slightest experience or preconcieved notions about this topic.

thanks again guys.

It is usually caused by poo husbandry. Poor diet,stress,poor cagesetuo,improper substrate, subtrate temperature. This is just the tip of the iceburg. As long as your properly careing for your ackies it shouldnt be a problem.

deep enough substrate be a problem? they are still babies now, and I plan to still have soil in their adult cage, with plenty of hides and yes they'll be able to burrow in it, but i doubt its ideal/deep enough for egg laying

Just like the post below, it appears you already know the answer. Without a proper nesting area(at least one of many kinds) Females normal absorb their eggs. But this takes very precise conditions, and the failure to do this properly causes tramatic reproductive failure. Cheers

what would be the minimum soil depth? I'm sure other factors play a role, but is there any kind of "rule of thumb"?

I know its selfish to think this way, but I would like to able to readily SEE my critters. I only mention this topic because I really would like to go aquarium with acrylic top and stay away from the trough setup (despite probably using it anyway since I'd assume its the best for the animals).

with a trio or reds I'd think I would have to go at the very least a 75 gallon tank. Im GUESSING for adults 10-12 inches of dirt? If the tanks can handle that weight, then I'll go that direction. Any experience with the threshold of those larger aquariums? I would have to think a half full aquarium of dirt would be comparable to a full aquarium of water?

Just lookin for insight and some experience before i invest time in money in a cage that will be unsteady/collapse/whatever.

the poo, out

Dirt is an insulator, and a fairly good one at that. However when you start considering the temp outside the cage and the temp inside the cage, the amount of dirt is going to have huge affect at how well the cage holds its heat, and the gradient of that heat. If you only allow 10 inches of dirt how steep is the gradient going to be? The dirt that is in contact with the glass will be the temp of the glass. The dirt under the light will be whatever temp you set it at, but in between the light and the glass is your gradient. If the nesting temp is middle 80's F your basking temp is 140 F and the dirt at the glass is 68 F how sharp is your gradient? So how large is the nesting area that you are really providing? I'm sure someone with more experience than I could disprove me if I'm wrong, but that is how I think about it. Also I think you would want cover the sides were the dirt is so when they dig down they don't find light.
Cheers,
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

When you figure the foot print of a 75 gallon is 48" by 18" this really isnt a great deal of space. Could you keep them in it and have them live thier lives YES. But would it be on the small side thats for sure. I keep my ackies in 6' steel troughs. I fill the entire thing with my substrate mix. Then I build a 2'tall wood frame with a plexi glass front I use glass when i find it cheap enough it dosent scratch as bad or yellow in time. This would allow you to see your ackies the same reason I build them this way. By the way the 75 will hold the weigh if the center brace is intact. Have a good one. Ian

Yeap, I was leaning towards the aquarium for ease of setting up, but for the long run and health of the critters i think I will use the trough with the wooden top. With the wooden top, what kind of plywood do you use? what kind of wood for the frame? I KNOW that there a bunch of different kinds and finishes that use all sorts of wood and certain types (pine and cedar) are toxic to reptiles. I have some construction experience and would assume the wood HAS to be sealed to keep it from deforming? Could you elaborate on the "need to knows" of building the wooden top?

thanks a lot

assuming that you are purchasing your wood at Home Depot or Lowes or other comparable places the pine wood 2x's are kiln dried and the problem of oils is not of that much concern not to mention that if you are intending to seal it as well it makes it less of a problem. usually an 8' pine 2 x 4 will run you in the $2 to $3.50 range and the prices for the various dimensions are comparably more expensive. Cedar on the other hand at the same type of stores runs something like $8 to$12 for an 8' 2 x 4 although if you get your wood from a saw mill the price is more comparable how ever it is advisable to let sawmill pine sit around a while before you seal it and it is not kiln dried.Cedar is also a softer wood that does not have as much shear strength (not that it really matters so much with such small dimensions of the average cage). Although I am not sure with cedar I do know that with cypress which is very similar to cedar it is not recommended that you apply a sealent because the wood needs to breathe. Assuming cedar is similar the oils could be a problem in such a situation. The one you really want to avoid for indoor enclosures is pressure treated wood but that is for your own safety in the event of a fire. i use the helmsman indoor/outdoor spar urethene from minwax for sealing wood myself. It runs about $30-$40 a gallon which is cheaper and more advisable than using the one quart cans as you will need to triple coat the wood in order to seal it properly. You will also want to pre seal your wood first and let it dry outside and then assemble the parts inside as the fumes are quite nasty. but in the end it works quite well. It will take you 2-3 days to complete the sealing process and then you still want to wait a day or two before bringing the wood inside. Something to consider for the plywood is something I am about to experiment with I am working in a cage now and am going to use a plywood backing ( I'm using 5/8" plywood for this cage) and I will be attaching fiber concrete board (hardy plank)to it for the inside. It does not have the shear strength of plywood which is why I am joining them although I do use it by itself on some outdoor cages and it does fine. This is a very versatile and underutilized product for high humidity applications. You can paint it stucco it tile it or what ever and it can handle what ever water you throw at it. I have an iguana can that I used this on for their hide box and I am in florida it has handled all the afternoon storms we get a direct hit from 3 major hurricanes and indirect hits from 3 others plus a few tropical storms and the plastic job I do on this cage every winter since 2001. It is just now showing signs of wear and most of that is from me walking on it each winter. I have some rabbit cages with plywood roofs and I'm lucky if I get two years out of it. I have started replacing these roofs with hardy plank.