Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These are in answer to Jobi who asked if I was sure that my armata ladies were in fact gravid and asked if I had palpated them. I actually felt the eggs several weeks back but you can clearly see the eggs in female #1 now. The hole she dug is still a puzzle to me as there has been no digging activity since. It was a simple hole in one corner, clear to the bottom in about 6-7” of substrate. She never dug anywhere else and hasn’t dug since. She has soaked several mornings in a row now and has been basking as has the other gravid female.

This is the female #1, the one that has been stressing me. You can tell by the look on her face that she isn’t too stressed! I think that she thinks it is funny that I am stressing. I have said for years that these guys like to make fools of us! And what about those nice rosy cheeks? Isn’t she a glowing beauty?

These next ones I tried to get the lumps/eggs to show but I think you can just see that she is really fat.

This one you can see one egg just back from the the front leg.

These next two I took without any light so that I could get the lumps/eggs to show up. Not real clear, great photos but you can see the lumps pretty clearly.

Here is the other female (#2) who isn’t showing the eggs yet but I can clearly feel them when I palpate. I was just noticing that she was alway more of a rust with gray-blue in the patches and now she is more pink too. Do you suppose they show more pink when gravid when they aren't the green base color? HUM?

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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Soaking is normal, the rose color is normal, both females look good.

Adding a bulb near the bottom is good, it needs to heat part of the substrate.

At this point I would dump a bucket of oak leaf, that’s what I did and my female nested the same nigh. Theirs something about oak that makes them nest, could be a familiar sent? Could be antifungal properties? Don’t know why but oak leafs have given me good results for many years with all Asian reptiles, plus I love the aroma.

So hears the deal, add oak leafs and if she nest within 24h I get first available pair!
Deal?

rgds

So, do they all get that pretty pink/rose color when they are close to laying? I know that some Chameleons change color when they are gravid, sort of a touch me not color. I haven't seen this with any of my other Acanthosaura species.

Getting Oak leaves in South Dakota is a tall order. We aren't known for deciduous trees. In fact, here in the plains most of our deciduous trees are soft wood trees. The most common being cottonwood and hackberry and along the rivers and streams lots of willows. You will see the rare maple or elm but almost never an oak or walnut. In the hills you see lots of pine, cedar and juniper. The cedar and juniper are also scattered along wind-rows, streams, and river banks.

So, I asked my landlord if he know of any oak trees and he told me there might be a stand between the marina off the river and the streem that connects it to the old reservoir. I don't know if I will be able to get out this evening but maybe I can talk hubby into a treck. That is someplace we have never been. Otherwise I just don't know where I could hope to find them.

If I do, and they lay, or even one lays, within 24 hours, you can surely have a pair if we can figure out how to make the deal. I don't have means of exporting. Maybe a trade for one of your beautiful new species or their offspring!

We just may have to make a trip to Canada. That would still be a long ways from you but perhaps a chance meeting somewhere inbetween!

I guess we have to get the eggs laid first then we'll worry about the specifics!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Jobi,

I found an oak tree! I have a plastic grocery bag packed full of them. I am guessing it would be about a bucket full. I had to go to the Doctor this afternoon while hubby watched the shop so I snuck off to that spot where the landlord said the trees were and found one along side the road.

So, do I want to crush the leaves or leave them whole? They are very firm and dry as it is very dry here right now.

I will agree that they do have a nice smell. I hope my girls think so too!

I think I will put in a shallow tub of one of the substrates you recommended for holding water and put the leaves on top of that and move the light. I have sphagnum in two areas and will use the oak leaves to replace the lower area of sphagnum. This will still allow her choices, but now will give her 3, the peat/coir mix, the whole sphagnum, and now the oak leaves. If she is ready she should be able to find a suitable site!

I will let you know when she does it! Again, thanks for the suggestions!

Oh, and do let me know about the condition of the leave, do I just leave them whole and lose or compress and crush them a bit?
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

What you have to sneak out for this? How ridiculous!! hahaha
I never ever have to do this, well almost never, maybe once in a while but that’s it, ok OK I admit! I can only sneak out herping with my doter, as my son will tell on me. And yes I get it too from the wife. If fact I am running out of imagination. Use to bring here back wild flowers, this made her happy until she realised my lizards eat them.
Use to take the family collecting berries, but this made both kids and mother angry.
My last escapade was with my kids in a local bug swamp, came back with a zillion mosquito bites, that was it, now I have the chocker. So you can email me all your sneak out tips, I need some women intelligence, as mine seems to have the upper hand for now.

About the leaves, don’t crush them, just throw them in a pile over your other substrate, you can compress them a little with your hand. These leafs help in retaining moisture, your lizards will love them for sure.

Cool, I might try oak leaves. I have a huge oak tree in my front lawn.

It's daughter, not doter. Good try though!(In french, it is filles, right? and son is fils?)

Marcia, I will trade you ten lbs of oak leaves for one MHD.(once again, just kidding [unless you are up to the trade])

Au revoir!
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Ryan

See, I didn't think to correct the doter because I have been around a lot of people from netherlands and surrounding countries and there it it doter and son. In fact the children take the father's sirname as their last name in some countries so the the daughter would be the father's name-doter and the son would be the father's name-son. That's why there are so many names that end in son! So like Gunder would have children with the last names Gunderson and Gunderdoter depending on gender!

Cool Huh!

Learned this from our foreign exchange student back in High School! Amazing what I recall from all those years ago!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Any kind of leaves will do. The only thing important is that they are not fresh and green.
Just use the oldleaves which cover the ground in a forest. You may also add a bit of rotten wood.
I do this in all may rainforest tanks. Its an attractive cover for egg laying for all forest species. In a rainforest climate, however, even oak leaves do quickly vanish due to the work of the soil flora and fauna, which develops in a naturalistically furnished rainforest tanks. Hence I add new leaves every three months or so.

Regards

Ingo

P.S.: The leave layer in my tanl normally is like 4 " thick