Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi. my female tamatave seems/is sick.For the past week she has been relatively idle(not moving around her cage)She is showing "dull/off" colors from the norm, i thought she may be getting ready for a shed because i have seen her this color b4.I have never seen her sit with her eye/eyes closed ubtil this week.She doesnt try to resist me when i take her out of the cage(she usually opens her mouth at least once). And finally the last "symptom" would be that she twitches her head ex. when i spray her.Im wondering if she could be REALLY stressed from seeing a male and not being able to mate, i did "show" her to her future breeding buddy.As far as eating drinking, she wouldnt seem to be eating normally, however she is eating. Any suggs? thanks Dave

that you are spraying her. I had a female that would do that. It was a quick head shake like a sharp fast head bob. It meant she was angry at me for spraying her.
Will she drink out of a dripper? Try switching to that if spraying her is stressing her.
Can she see the male all day long. Just having seen him once should not have stressed her that badly.
She could have an infertile clutch to lay. Try providing her with a laying tub with damp sand or coco fiber. Not soggy though just damp enough to hold a tunnel.
Are other parts of her twitching not only when you spray.
Random twitching and tremors could be a sign of MBD or a need for more Calcium.
Eating and drinking are a good sign but I would take her to a vet and get her checked out if the temps and humidity in her cage are right. I would recheck everything to make sure and give her a laying tub right away.

....When i handle her.I'll step up the calcium,and see if that helps. She does drink from a dripper also. that is how i primarily water her, i spray 2- 3 times a day.I'll keep u posted. If she isnt better by monday i'll take her to the vet. Thanks. Dave

They can surprize you. With my female there was no sign of eggs and you could not feel them. When I put in the tub of sand I was totally shocked that she laid the eggs.
Even with my mated panther you could not feel them at all, she had no visible signs of eggs and you could not feel them by touching her.
Good luck with her but be careful with raising the calcium too much because it can be just as bad as too little and the symptoms can be the same.
What has her supplementation scheduele been the past several months?

I Gutload the crixz with that fluker orange cube and that salad in a bag, and also a meal type formula,.I dust the crix's with herptavite 2-3 time s a week. dust with calicium once every 3 days.I also feed her slikworms, and hornworms but not too often with the horny's.I have cut her suplementation down as she has gotten older. She is approx 10-11 mos old. I will get some sand i guess, put her in it and see. i guess. What kind of sand should i get? Thanks.dave

with coco fiber. The playsand is for kids sandboxes and the coco fiber is the bricks of ground coconut shells that are for reptile and terrarium substrates. Just soak in water and it makes a good moist substrate.
I just put a good sized 6 inch or deeper plastic Sterilite tub filled with this in the bottom of her cage with a branch leading to it.