Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My normally sweet girl, Bubbles, must have been having a hormonal moment last week and Loofah rubbed her just the wrong way. I got a call while at work from my daughter saying we had to get Loof to the vet because Bubbles had bitten him on the lower jaw. I rushed home to pick them up and was horrified by what I saw. The bite had gone thru the lower jaw, splitting it like it had been struck with a cleaver. Poor Loof had to have his jaw wired back together and the soft tissue repaired. This photo was taken a couple of days post bite and the swelling has now gone down considerably and his jaw looks more normal. I think he will heal nicely and have only slight scarring.

that sucks!!

have gotten that badly bitten. I have had a number of spats between my animals, but never anything that severe. Did Bubbles lay any eggs this year ? She must have been thinking about it. And they do get hypersensitive at that time of the year. My smallest female layed in the big hide box, and won't allow any of the larger females or male in the box -- tough little girl. On the other extreme Lev fattened-up premating season, but choose not to lay this year.

Sorry about the loss of the eggs. Is this the second year in a row that Lev has not laid?

I had Bubs xrayed in August because I suspected that she might be gravid and didn't want to take her to Daytona if that were the case. Xray revealed that she is carrying eggs. I took Scrub, her cage mate, to Daytona instead and upon our return tried to reintroduce him. She immediately turned on him so I removed her from the enclosure and she's now back living upstairs. When I left for work the day Loofah was bitten he and Bubbles were basking nicely together, no signs of any problems.
No eggs from her yet. Maybe she's reabsorbing?

Thanks Jane, good to be back -- I had an interesting,but aweful work tour this last summer.

My old theory was that Lev lays every other year. That changed last year when she layed two years in a row. Given the fact that last year she moved 3000 miles from LA to NY, I was pretty amazing that she layed. My new thoery is that she will lay if I am around to pay attention to her needs, while my others lay regardless. The years that I work the summer, she does not lay. This last summer I was gone from 23 June until 12th Sept. She was bulking up before I left, and looks slimer now -- reabsorbed the eggs. Being that bubbles is an offspring, she probably does the same, though your season in Michigan is different, maybe she is yet to lay her eggs ? Good luck.