Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok guys, Ivan is half emerged from the sand she was digging in. she is sleeping she i remove so i can remove the eggs or should i wait till she wakes up i am sure she is starving she has not eaten in over a week. i am freaking out!
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vonnie
***One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. - A. A. Milne***

I would wait at least one hour to make sure she is done laying. She should eat within a couple days of laying, and usually pretty quicker than that.

I remove the lizards, then remove the eggs.

John

Try not to allow her to see you take her eggs ! Remove her for a few minutes , and take the eggs !
Then heap the sand up again where she had them covered. Then put her back in!

Is she thin looking? Can you see the eggs ? let us know Vonnie !
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Eve

oh yeah i have one more question. how long will it take for her orange to go away or will she stay that way for the rest of the season?
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vonnie
***One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. - A. A. Milne***

yes i could see the eggs and i could see her deflated little sides. this is the skinniest she has been ever. i guess not eating for so long took its toll on her and unfortunately the eggs too. she laid five but only one of them was like it should be. the guys who are hatching them for me said they could maybe harden so he put them in the thingy with the one normal egg. they said it looked like she did not get enough calcium. if she has not eaten for the last week or 9 days, how could i have gotten her more calcium? could i have diluded it with water and syringed it down her throat? so as long as that one hatches then i am just going to pay them for hatching it for me and bring him/her home because i wanted one of them. maybe the other ones will harden but i doubt it. it was her first time and mine so maybe if there is another time then we will do better. she is running around the cage and just ate a whole bunch of crickets and wax worms.
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vonnie
***One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. - A. A. Milne***

This is of utmost importance during breeding season, as well as several weeks prior to hibernation. I try to heavily dust the crickets with calcium at ever feeding for the females at every feeding...so basically, every lizard get it too.

No much you can do when they are not eating, but the eggs are probably formed that the calcium for the few days prior to laying may not even go towards the eggs...who knows though. I'm just speculating on that. The best things to do is just give them lots of calcium at ever feed. I sprinkle it on the rocks sometimes, and they will just eat it right up!

The orange will gradually fade away, but expect it to re-intensify in 3-4 weeks. Usually, with adequate diet, she will start to develop more eggs. Be ready to start feeding heavily with lots of minerals! LOL

John Eddington

no wonder they don't take care of their young. as soon as the one batch hatches, the poor girl is getting knocked up again. i always dust the crickets. maybe i am just not dusting them enough. i will coat them till they look like walking pieces of powder. they have two basking lamps, a long light, afternoon sunlight and calcium sand. (don't the lights do something for calcium or am i thinking of something different? please excuse my stupidity) is there anything else that i can do to give them more?
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vonnie
***One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. - A. A. Milne***

You dust the crickets well, the long light you speak of is probably your uvb when was it last replaced ?

In order to be benificial some have to be replaced every 6 months to a year.

Also one other thing do you feed your crickets well?

Also what did the eggs look like, were they spongey, kind of soft and denty looking? If so, that dos not nessesarily mean a lack of calcuim, like your friend said.

They may not have been fertile.

Oh and congratulations, I hope the eggs all make it and we get to see all the new lil faces soon,
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Eve

the light is probably 7 months old. i bought it late september but the basking lights are relatively new, like in the last 3 months. i was misting one day and was not really paying attention and the hot bulbs did not like the cold water...oops, i am entitled to blonde moments.
i don't feed the crickets, i just buy them and let the babies eat. i tried keeping quantities of them but the chirping drives me nuts when i am trying to read or sleep, which is all i do. in fact if i see winged ones in the bag, i throw them in first to make sure they are eaten. i know i know, it is pretty obessive/compulsive.
i did not actually touch the eggs. i just took the whole box there and let the guy take them out. i guess they looked gooey. not as white as the normal one and not as firm. so in other words, her calcium may be fine but walter is not as manly as he thinks he is? none of them hibernated, could that be the problem? is there anything i can do to help my little man perform better? this has to be his first spring, maybe he is just not really ready?
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vonnie
***One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. - A. A. Milne***

My male stopped head-bobbing a while ago -- I assumed it was because he'd taken care of his business with my female already. When she starts developing more eggs, will he need to step up to the plate again, or is she fertilized for the entire season already?

Sperm retention is common among reptiles (and birds) and many females will continue with fertile clutches after one mating. But some do not. If they breed again, great, but if they do not the eggs can still be good.

Laura