Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Tom,
I had my female San Estaban Island chuck in to see Dr. Jarchow this morning. He confirmed my suspicion that she is ovulating! He recommended that I contact you to ask about the nesting regimen that you provide for your female chuckwallas housed indoors. Currently, my lizards are indoors, as we moved into a new house and I haven't finished constructing the outdoor enclosure. Dr. Jarchow suggested that it would be best to wait until the female lays her eggs (if all goes well) before moving her outdoors in order to avoid any stress incurred due to the move outside. I'm interested to hear any information you can share!
All the best,
Robert Nixon
Tucson, Arizona
sapo1047@msn.com

from you again. Glad you are working with the varius. Anyway the nest box is pretty simple. Fo the hispidus I just use a wooden box 18" x 24" x 10" tall with a removeable top. I cut a slot in one corner about 4" tall x 6" wide about 3 inches from the top. Then fill it with damp play sand. I also put a flood light over the top of it to keep it warm. They do not seem to be too picky so they should lay no problem. Of course I have not bred varius yet so hopefully they are no different. I put them in the box once or twice when I first put the nest box in so they know it is there. Also put a rock in front of the opening so they can climb in to problem. If you have any detailed questions don't be afraid to ask. Keep us posted. Good luck! Tom

That sounds pretty straight forward. Hopefully the male is feeling up to the task. I'll definitely keep you posted. By the way, how are your Ctenosaura melanosterna doing? When I the outdoor enclosures finished, I may like to take some of them on as a project.

Thanks again!
Robert

Hi Robert

The melans are still eating and crapping. LOL. I had my varius ovulate all the time but it seems the males just do not do the job. You can palpate the folicles quite easily but nothing ever comes of it. I had lost a female a few years back. It puffed up and just remained that way until it suffocated after about an hour. When the vet opened her up we found out when she blew herself up she perferated a lung where there was some old scar tissue. This caused her entire body cavity to fill with air and she suffocated. The thing is she had about 22 eggs in her but they were infertile in there early developement stages. I think it may help to keep 2 males in the same cage. I know this is key with getting fertile eggs from hispidus.

Tom

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the note. The male not owning up to his part is one of my concerns. The other concern I have(and perhaps most important)is that the female will have complications with egg retention or any other potential problems that could arise from an unsuccessful reproductive cycle. Aside from the incident you mentioned where your female had ruptured a lung, have you had any problems with your female varius that stemmed directly from unfertilized ova? Of course, my hope is that if my lizards do not breed that the female will re-absorb the ova and things will proceed as normal.
Rob

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