Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed orange spots on my female collared, Zoey, about two weeks ago. She went into hiding for the first week and did not eat at all. She has been slightly more active this past week, but she has only eaten two small crickets. After just two crickets in two weeks, she is noticeably thinner than usual. Can anyone give me any ideas as to what might be wrong? I thought that gravid collareds were supposed to eat voraciously.

I have a 2'h x 2'w x 4'l Reptarium cage with a Kane heat mat regulated to 105 degrees and a Big Apple Herp mercury vapor bulb at one end. I use Calci-Sand substrate. I feed 1/2" to 1' crickets sprayed with Fluker's liquid vitamin spray which contains electrolytes, amino acids, calcium, D-3 and other nutrients. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your help.

Hi,

Many reptiles, especially lizards, begin increasing their food intake shortly after copulation; until finally, right before they deposit their eggs, their appetite decreases tremendously... sometimes avoiding food altogether. That, in conjunction with a lot of activity such as digging test holes, is one of the most important signs of "gravidness." If in fact your lizard is carrying eggs, the behavior you are observing is quite normal. Copulation, gestation and oviposition are very very stressful for lizards; therefore, only healthy animals should be allowed to mate. You mentioned that she looks thin; keep an eye on her and prepare a laying site immediately. You can find suggestions on how to do that in some of the previous posts if you're not already aware. Again, if the lizard is gravid and has gone off-food, she should deposit eggs very soon. If she doesn't, she's either gravid and unable to pass the eggs, or she is not gravid and may have a sand impaction (among other things).

If she is gravid and ready to lay, the eggs might be visible...

How long have you had the animal?

Is she kept with a male?

Has she defecated recently?

-----
Fabián Aguirre
Zookeeper/ Freshwater Aquarist
Department of Herpetology and Freshwater Biology
The Dallas World Aquarium
(214) 720-2224
fabian@dwazoo.com
www.dwazoo.com

Yes, I keep her with my male Collared, Kyle.

She stopped eating pretty much the same day that I noticed the spots. She normally eats a lot more that my male Collared. I don't know how long after the spots appear that she is suppose to deposit eggs. She may look a bit bloated in the stomach area, but her stomach isn't too large. When, I mentioned she looked thinner, I meant that she is noticeably thinner at the base of her tail. I do not know if she has defecated recently or not. She and Kyle don't don that when people are watching for some reason. The feces in the cage could be just from Kyle for all I know. I did notice that she has been digging a lot, but that started more like a month ago.

I have had Kyle and Zoey for three years now. She was gravid last summer for the first time, but I was not around to witness her behaviour because I was in Kuwait for a tour of duty.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks again for your help.