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I have a female that has been with a male and it has been around 8 weeks since they were introduced. I left them together for a couple weeks. Friday she started losing her appetite and Sunday quit eating altogether. I set up a tank for laying and within 1 hour she was tunneling in. She still hasn't laid and I'm starting to get worried about her. I've been keeping her hydrated and she has been picking a lil at food but is now out of the burrow she dug.... no eggs and hasn't shown any interest in going back to it. Also I can't feel any eggs in her belly and she doesn't appear bloated or anything. But I couldn't feel eggs in my hypo feamle from her cross either, she did, however, show slight lumps towards the end and this girl doesn't.
Will nongravid females dig a burrow for no reason? This is her first season to breed. Is it possible she is eggbound? Any other problems she could be having? Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for your time,

Robert

Best way to tell if your female is gravid or not is to keep careful records of her weight.. it's real important to know how much she weighs before introducing her, while introduced, and after she has been introduced.. that is a very good way to tell.

If she doesn't appear to be bloated and/or fatter then she was before you introduced her to your male, then most likely she is not eggbound.. doesn't mean she isn't, but is probably not. I had a younger female that was never bred, showed only minimal weight gain, did not lose/increase her appetite, and laid 22 infertile eggs.. had no idea she was gravid until she was digging aorund her cage.. couldn't feel anything but i figured better safe then sorry and before i knew it she laid.

Best advice I can give is to put her back in her regular cage away from the male.. leave her be.. offer food and see if she eats. If she starts running around the cage or digging at the corners and/or decorations, put her back in the egg laying cage for a few hours and leave her completely alone.. she may not be happy with the egg laying site.. make sure it's the way it's supposed to be.. if she hasn't done anything after a few hours put her back into her cage and try again in a few days.

I put ours in the egg laying box around 3 or 4pm which seems to be the time they want to lay.. after the egg laying box has warmed up nice and hot and moist. Ours will dig within an hour of being placed inside, and after they are done, they cover the eggs and bury them real good.

Keep a close eye on her. If she doesn't regain her appetite soon, you may want to take her to the vet. If she starts to act lathargic and/or depressed, eyes shut a lot, not moving much, get her to the vet ASAP it could be egg binding and if you mess around with that she could pass away from it. If she acts normal and is eating, you should be ok.

G'luck
Brandon
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Dragons by Nature