Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our female just laid 22 eggs, we were expecting in a 3 weeks, and are unprepared. We had a moist nest box of potting soil and sand in her tank to lay, and she did so readily. She then turned around and tried to smash them all. We stopped her and saved the eggs. She returned to the nest area and continued to smash and pound. She is now burying the lay site. We were in the process of moving the male, and have done so. The eggs were placed in moist vermicular, in tupperware with small holes in the sides. They are at 80 degrees. Tomorrow we head out to get an 'ovabator' from the local feed store.

What do we need to do to make sure everyone is well?
I palpated her, and was not able to feel any more eggs.
What is the best thing to do to assist in them in calming and returning to more content space?
Do they have any special needs for the night?

The biggest thing is she will be dehydrated after laying. I drip water on their noses with an eyedropper until they stop licking it.

Thank you, we did that last night. She drank quite a bit. She looks fine this morning.
Have you ever heard of a mother trying to smash her eggs with her head just after laying them? Even after we took them out, she went back to where she had laid them and used her head to beat the area she had laid her eggs.

I believe she was just trying to make sure that she buried her eggs well. I noticed that with my female too after she laid her eggs...she pushed the eggs with her snout and tried to pack them altogether in one place before covering them with soil. Not sure if that was the real reason, but the eggs turned out OK and hatched.

BTW, thanks to BDlvr for your advice when I had a related inquiry back in Sept. Never got the chance to thank you coz I moved to a new place. I had a 100% hatch rate. Better late than never...-chuckpb

To Chuckpb. No thanks needed glad I could help.

In answer to the post, it's funny how they use their faces to pack the soil around the eggs. I think that's what she was trying to do, not smash them. Perhaps there is not enough substrate in the nest box?

I am not sure of her intention, but she crushed one egg at the onset of this process. This is her first time as a mother, we raised her from infancy, maybe she was just over zealous.
We intervened when we saw her crush the egg and saved the rest. There are 21 eggs in the incubator, and they are looking undamaged. She is doing great this morning, strutting about and eating supers, crickets, and her greens. Thanks again for your support.