Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ever since she has laid her eggs (3days ago), she has been extremely lethargic. She hasn't really moved from her basking spot at all that I have noticed. She is very thin, and hasn't eaten since she laid her eggs(actually since 2days before she laid). I fear the worst, but I just picked up some REALLY fat nightcrawlers today in hopes she will come down for her favorite entree.

Is this typical behavior for them after they lay a clutch? I'm asking because, I'm on the virge of taking her to the vet again. This will be the second time in 1month. Should I try to force feed her, or give her a day or two more to recouperate?

Thanks
-Derek

Try "coax-feeding" her. I have yet to actually force feed any of my dragons. If I can get their mouth open and pop a nightcrawler in, they take it every time. I did this with Daisy 2 days ago. You may also want to offer the worm directly to her by placing it in front of her on her perch. Only rarely do my dragons make use of the feed dish. More often, I feed them with a long hemostat.

She has always used her feeder dish, and I have tried 'coax' feeding her. She just won't go for it unless SHE wants to. I have even tried force feeding her when her mouth was open, and she just let the worm crawl right out. I can usually get a oral syringe in her mouth to administer medicine, and I am thinking about using some baby food maybe if she doesn't start perking up!

My main concern though is her lethargic state. I was wondering if you guys have also went through this with your MHD's after they laid a clutch of eggs. She has been sleeping on her perch night and day. She is responsive to me going in and out of her cage though (she keeps a keen on on me =).

Thanks

Some perck up after a day or two
mine I was giving Pedya-Lamb after 3 days (the first clutch)
and I coaxed fed her a Pinkey the second time
if you can get a teeny tiny pinkey, I would put that in her mouth, let her crush the head and taste it. Sounds gross, but I think she will finish it, and maybe a nightcrawler too

Read as much of this forum as you can, it IS getting kinda long, but many of the posts are quite short, and you should be able to see the topic in the thread (for the most part)
Good luck

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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

Well, I called my vet and read your guy's posts. And between the 'coax' feeding, and the vet recommended me giving her some sugar water (which I did), she perked up.

I think a large part of why she perked up was because of me handling her. I gave her a little batyrl(.1cc) and some sugar water(.2cc), which she took pretty easily (although she was trying to fake me out by keeping her eyes closed..they opened pretty quick after she took the sugar water down).

So then I read zrho's post about coax feeding her. I thought I couldn't do it because I have dangled all kinds of worms in front of her and she wouldn't take them. So I put her on my lap after giving her some of her the sugar water and batryl and just let her sit there. She started to display at my finger (extending her dewlap!), so I figured if she wants to go for my finger she's gonna want to go for a worm.

I picked the fattest worm (I'll take a pic of these worms! they are FAT!) out of her stash, and flopped him on my lap. The worm started wiggling around like crazy because he couldn't find any soil, and this grabbed her attention really quick. She was bobbing her head, with eyes WIDE open watching every move this worm made. Then with a sudden lunge at him she took him up, bit a big chunk and slurpped the rest up like it was a noodle!

I am so happy she actually moved. Maybe tomorow I will give her a warm soak to relax her stomach a little.

This is the SECOND time, she has freaked me out so bad I called a vet and probably sounded like a over-paranoid freak. All she needed was a little handling, a fat nightcrawler, and some sugar water to get her up and going again. At the moment she is perched on one of her branches, scoping out another nightcrawler in her bowl.

Phew...Sorry for the long post, but its been a pretty stressful for Morgana and I. Now lets just hope the eggs will make it through.

Thanks a MILLION guys!
-Derek

glad to hear she perked up. I think they must be really exhausted after laying the eggs. I know that having a baby is pretty tiring so laying a whole bunch of eggs and all the digging and burying that goes with it I just expect to see the mhd totally wiped out!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

this is pretty typical. Give the really fat nightcrawlers a shot. I find that the first meal after laying needs to be real lively to get their attention. Once they eat that first meal though, watch out, cuz they turn back into pigs!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

And thats exactly what she did, she turned back into a pig. She gobbled up 3 night crawlers in 24hours. And 3 of the BIG ones I got. She is back to her normal fat lazy ways again(as far as I'm concerned). She is nice and fit now, as for that indentation in her stomach you saw, that was a mixture of her leg streching awkwardly, and my camera at a bad angle. Although she was fairly thin.

I'm just glad things are kind of back to normal now. The eggs appear to be doing fine so far. Its been nearly 1 week now. I have yet to candle them.

Cheers!
Derek