Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys. i have a candy cane who's due to lay eggs in 3 days.

but i've noticed that for the last few days she's been coasting around the cage almost non-stop. not quickly or anything, just slowly making rounds. she has aspen bedding, a large water bowl, and a larger laying box with moist sphagnum moss in it. the temp in her cage is the same as always (about 75).
this is her first time pregnant, and i'm worried about her. she just won't stop moving.

is this normal?

-Ellen

my female did that right before she got ready to lay...she's just restless :*)...peace, chris

...

Sounds like she is unhappy with her egg laying box. You may want to put two in there at two different tempretures so she can choose. Also, try loading her box completly full of moss, all the way to the top. Gravid females should spend the few days before a lay settled in thier box, some are just more picky about thier egg boxes.

well, i'm glad to know that the behavior has been seen before.
however, i'll still put in a second laying box (maybe add some vermiculite in the botton, too) on the other side and see what happens.

thanks for both responses you guys. this little lady's important to me...

I tried filling my boxes to the top with moss this year (got the tip from a good breeder) and found the girls liked it much better that way. But sometimes they are fussy and don't like anything you give them, so don't be hard on yourself if she still does it. One other thing that helps is...if she does go in her box, don't check on her too often (just once or twice a day) or she will feel her box is not private enough and start searching again. Good Luck!

yeah, i thought it was a privacy thing at first. i covered the outside of her cage with paper towels so my walking by wouldn't disturb anything. all my observations are through the top.
i'll add more moss to the first hidebox and see what she does.

maybe she's just picky. like snake, like owner.