Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bred my male and female sunglow motley corns for the first time last week. As soon as I put them together they locked on and have done so several other times. i kept them together for about a week and then seperated them again. Now I am supposed to be feeding the female very well so she can produce the eggs. The male is eating but the female has just picked a spot under the newspaper substrate right under the heat lamp and is curled up there. When I offer her food FT mice. She just srikes at it like in self defense but does not coil around it and attempt to feed. I want her well nourished so she can make the eggs and she looks like she is a bit bigger around. I know she needs to feed at this point and I have never seen her miss a meal before. She is usually an aggressive feeder. What can be wrong and how can I get her to eat.

First off, how long since they mated? I know my females go off feed when the eggs are growing in them too big to pass a mouse through their digestive system. If it's been a month or two since you had them two together, I'd say she's gonna shed soon, then 4 to 7 days later lay the eggs. This is just my limited knowledge speaking, but I'd say what you have there is a gravid female that doesn't wanna eat. I wouldn't worry too much. This time of year, something else is on the brain, not eating...

AJ
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1.0 Hypo Okeetee - Wesley (Princess Bride)
0.1 Ghost - Sydney (Scream)
2.0 Striped Amel - Jay and Aiden (Kevin Smith movies)
1.0 Snow - Silent Bob (Kevin Smith movies)
0.1 Anery - Columbia (Rocky Horror)
1.0 Creamcicle - Brandon (Mallrats)
0.1 Zig Zag Anery - Pepper (didn't name her)
0.1 Normal - Bindy (Croc. Hunter)
0.1 Motley - Craven (Underworld)

Agreed. Heavily gravid females find it troublesome to eat, so some don't bother. If you're worried, I suggest maybe offering a smaller item than usual - say a medium or small mouse, perhaps even a couple of fuzzies?

You can also get supplements to add to her drinking water. Usually ones with a calcium content are a good idea just before laying.

If that's a recent photo, then she looks very well nourished. If there are no other signs that might indicate illness e.g. noisy breathing, problem shed, mites etc, then I'd say she's just waiting it out until laying.

Get a laying container in with her as soon as possible. Even if laying isn't imminent, mine seem to like checking it out for size a couple of weeks before they get down to business.

Good luck "Gramps"!

She has not eaten a single thing since being bred only 2 weeks ago. maybe not even that long ago.
According to my calculations she should not lay eggs till the end of April. That would be 6 weeks, but I will introduce a laying tub now. She does look like she is getting really big really fast. Could she just have produced so many eggs that she already can't eat?
Sorry tho I'm not gonna be Gramps. I'm gonna be Grams.
Anson is just my user name and the name of my business (frame shop).
my name is Sonia

Sorry Sonia!

She could be ovulating - that'll look very much as though she's gravid (and will probably feel the same to her).

I've had females go for more than 6 weeks without feeding before they lay. I picked one of my reliable feeding females at random from my records and I can see she took a mouse on 17th March, then refused all offered feeds after that (10 in all, some smaller than her usual prey, just in case that would tempt her). She laid 20 eggs on 10th May, refused a feed on 14th May and ate normally from 19th May onwards.

Your gal certainly looks in very good shape in your photo, so if you're comfortable that there are no other problems then she should be OK to go without food until she lays. As with any health query, if you're really worried, then take her to the vet and get her checked.

Cheers
Kel

She is probably gravid or ovulating. I will see how she acts after laying and will keep offereng food.
Sonia

She has not accepted food since the mating occurred. I have offered it several times since the mating and nothing.