Reptile & Amphibian Forums

You do remember who Luke is don't you? (Lucy)

Well, he was being a real stinker, shy, thin, inactive, and downright unfriendly. So, I tried to coax him into an attitude change with hand-fed nightcrawlers, bowls of super worms, silk worms, and all the other prime food I could think of, all to no avail. So, in desperation I put him in with my ladies to see if he was just lonely. He is still so small, smaller than D2, Tuck, and Teddy who are all much smaller than Darrell. Anyway, it seemed to work. Luke is eating well, in fact he can be a complete pig eating all the worms first and not letting the ladies get theirs! Of course I do make sure they get some when he is finished. Seems there are always some individuals who hit the food dish first and eat more than I can imagine

Anyway, that was sometime late spring. Since he is so small yet and I hadn't seen any displays I just never gave a though to him becoming a daddy.

Since none of my girls produced any eggs last year, well only 2 clutches, I removed Luke and introduced D2 & Tuck sometime in July. I then removed them and put Luke back in. Then I introduced Darrell for about 2 weeks, and I know he tried whether the females approved or not, and then removed him and put Luke back in. I figured that If a female laid a first clutch in November the dad would be D2 or Tuck, If the first clutch was laid in January the father would be Darrell.

Well, the whole thing just blew up on me! Last night Stumpy laid a beautiful clutch of 10 eggs. In order for her to be ready to lay now she would have been bred in mid May. At that time I was introducing the females, one at a time, to the males tanks. I wrote down the dates that they were introduced and removed from the males tanks on the glass. Stumpy was the only one who didn't spend time with a male at that time, that is, any male other than Luke! So, looks like Luke really did wake up when I introduced him to the female tank.

There are 2 or 3 other females who are fat and puffy that may be gravid. I am keeping an eye on them too. I don't believe it is a medical thing as they are eating well and all activities are normal.

So, looks like there will be some 2004 babies for both of us.

Marcia

Well I'm glad to hear Luke finally figured out if he was a male or a female...lol. Now I guess the only question is if the eggs are fertile or not. I am hoping they are, cause we will end up getting hatchlings at about the same time if my female lays soon (which she better since I can feel 6 eggs just be lightly running my finger down her belly and she is quite visibly lumpy). So is he fattening up nicely now that he has been in with the females? He was never much of a pig but never really gave me trouble with hunger strikes either. I guess he just realized he should have a female and wouldn't eat til he got one

Also, I wanted to see if you had any tips for getting my home-made incubator setup. I am planning on getting a styrafoam box to keep them in, and have a few deli cups each with about 5 eggs in vermiculite. Any suggestions? Thanks Marcia!
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Joe
joebradbury@attbi.com
aim and yahoo messenger - UTDstud18

Can't think of too much more than that. I do like a remote read-out digital thermometer that records min and max temps. That way you can move the box until you find a spot that will give you the desired temperature range. I find my basement is quite cool and if it gets too cool I put a small uth that is safe for use with plastics and turn that one for a short while each day to create a temperature fluctuation.

You know, the funny thing with Luke was that after I put him in with the girls I was almost convinced that I was going to have to change his name back to Lucy. Then, all of a sudden, the base of his tail swelled up and it was obvious at a glance that he was all boy! I will say that the eggs look very good, very well calcified and good shape/size. I haven’t candled them yet but will let you know when I do. I’m betting they are and will be very disappointed if they aren’t!

If you can feel the eggs that easily I would say it should be soon. I have found that they look puffy rather than lumpy until very shortly before they lay. So figure 2-3 weeks after the eggs are visible you should see laying/nesting activity.

Good luck!

Marciav