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Chica has been trying to get her second-clutch out since last weekend. Today, I thought she had finished while I was at work, because she'd finally stopped burrowing and gone back into the main community cave for a siesta. I couldn't see if she was skinny yet or not, but assumed that she'd laid and that I could get the eggs out after everybody down for the night.

So while everybody was asleep tonight I turned on the red light and started digging. Unfortunately, the first thing I tried to pull out that I thought was an egg was Chica's snout! She was completely buried under wet sand. I'm not quite sure if she was fine where she was, or if she'd had an air tunnel around her nostrils that I ruined by digging, or if I actually puled her under when my fingers first encountered a firm, blunt object (she was inside one of the square crevices that her large bricks have through them, so I may have sort of tugged downward as ell as sideways ... I'm not quite sure...) anyway, when I saw the "egg" was moving I knew it was Chica and wanted to check to make sure she was okay.

She was completely encrusted in wet sand. Blind and with questionable respiration. So I took her into the bath tub and cleaned her up. Thought I'd let her stay half an hour for a soak, but after five minutes she was breathing very forcefully as if trying to force the eggs out into the water. So I brought her back to the cage, pushed most of the wet sand back to where it had been before, and put her into sort of a compromise position.

I left her with her forebody exposed but her pelvic region buried. Figured she wouldn't suffocate no matter how stressed and tired, and would feel more "in there" than just sitting on top of the sand.

And... when I just peeked again right now to see if that position was agreeing with her... there was no sign whatsoever of her, and the sand is all messed up. I think she's reburied herself.

I guess I'd better just wait until I actually see that she's gotten the eggs out of her before I start digging in there again, huh? Poor Chica.
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)

One of my girls does that. I dug her out a few times after she had pushed sand in front of the tunnel opening. Then I started just digging her out a bed time if the opening was closed and she would start again the next morning. If the opening was still there at lights out, I just put a red bulb over the digging area to keep her warm enough to continue overnight if she wanted to. I think it is risky if she gets cold and can't dig back out if she needs to, but I really don't know. I am pretty new to this, too. Both times, she dug all night and laid mid morning to noon.

She's thinner today, although not emaciated-looking like after a complete lay. I thought maybe she'd only produced a small clutch and was done. Gave her a Phoenix worm, which she ate, then offered a cricket. She decided she'd rather climb up and bask than chase the cricket. Then she went back to digging. Doesn't seem harmed by last night.
Hmm. Actually, while I was hitting "Preview" on that post, I tossed Pancho a cricket and Chica dashed out and stole it. So maybe she is done. I don't work until 5 tonight, so I'll be able to form a more informed opinion than I could yesterday.
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)

I KNOW she laid eggs today, because she suddenly lost a lot of weight, but apparently she wasn't quite done. I just got home and she's made a little chamber under the water dish that was certainly not there when I left. I can see one egg through the glass, and I can also see her, still pushing to get eggs out. There may be other eggs under her, in addition to where she was digging before, but I am NOT bothering her two nights in a row. It's a wonder she wasn't mad at me today.

I'll set the alarm so I can check early tomorrow and have the water dish refilled. With water. Right now it's just a big sand pile.

Theoretically it could be Lupe that's down there laying, but Lupe was happily running around the apartment this afternoon,
while Chica was the one showing more obvious laying-day signs, so I'm betting it's Chica. Apparently she really took that Easter picture I posted to heart; she's been hiding little jellybean-eggs all over the place every month!
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)