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Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

oak leaves - still no eggs!

froggieb Oct 07, 2006 10:33 PM

It's been 24 hours so I have to assume that they just aren't ready yet! I don't see any signs of distress so I am still trying to just be cool and calm about this!

What should I watch for other than color change, lethargy, eye change, dullness. They are somewhat active, moving from place to place, basking, climbing, etc. Still look good!

I just hate waiting!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Replies (7)

Ryan2691 Oct 07, 2006 10:39 PM

I been waiting on eggs for almost ten months now... ;(
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Ryan

ingo Oct 08, 2006 04:01 AM

As long as the females are agile, do not sit a lot motionless on the ground and have open eyes, I would just wait.
If they start to display symptoms Ilisted, got to a vet to give the female an Ocytocin shot.
If this does not help within a day, repeat it in combination with a calcium injection and if still nothing happens, you have to consider surgery...

Good luck

Ingo

FroggieB Oct 08, 2006 04:53 PM

Thank you all! Not really worried. Both are still agile, basking, moving, and alert. Today I noticed another color change on the larger female. Her background color has always been brown with the recent bloom of pink splotches and cheeks. Now the background, or webbing is green! She has never been green!

Also, the smaller female, fat but didn't show lumps yet, today you can really see the lumps clearly! I am guessing she is about 2 weeks behind her larger cagemate.

I have also observed, and this is consistant with my other species, that the gravid females seem to dominate the lower parts of the viv now that nesting time is near. The other cagemates, male and non-gravid females, stay towards the non-nesting areas for the most part. When they do approach the ground they seem to stay away from the gravid females.

At night however, all three females have been hanging on the net together which is unusual as the non-gravid female is the submissive and shy one who usually hides most of the time. It seems so odd to see her hanging with the others! Dad however stays out of the way!

I did give them a nice rain this morning and the larger female ran for the rock and rolled a bit and drank quite a bit. She really seemed to be enjoying it. I know that with my other Acanthosaura this has sometimes been enough to trigger laying if they were close. If not, no harm regardless!

I hope to be showing photos of nice armata eggs by the end of the week!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

FroggieB Oct 08, 2006 05:15 PM

Trust me, when they decide the conditions are perfect and they are in good condition you will end up with eggs!

From the photos of your coronata I am sure you will be seeing some in short order! By the way, when you do, I would most likely be interested in some sort of trade or something.

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

Ryan2691 Oct 08, 2006 05:19 PM

Hmm... I don't know. I think I got screwed (again) when I purchased greeny. I just can't make out a difference between him and Dixie(known female).

But Ihave seen breeding behaviour so.. I don't know.
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Ryan

jobi Oct 08, 2006 10:09 AM

Oh but you know this game well lady, your not a newbie anymore!

Your lizards are healthy, they have options and a committed keeper, what more can you ask?

Your lizard turned pink because the eggs are shelled, when embryo are developing they absorb most of the carotenoids, when they are matured these carotenoids are stored in the female’s body fat, this turning her flesh pink as in salmons.

So don’t wary not only is she getting ready to nest, but you will have nice color babies. This can be asserted by candling your eggs, they will candle orange not yellow as usual, the reason is that carotenoids changes the yolk coloration.

Remember when you hatched blue babies? That was a direct result of what you fed the feeders.

Anyway be patient nothing to worry about, I have never seen egg binding in well hydrated lizards, and from what I know yours are not dehydrated.

Renown herpetologist and friend the late Thomas Hoff understood something that no herpetologist understood before him. He new the importance of stress in regards to nesting, in nature nesting is never a stress free event, stress is induced by many things like, competition for site, weather condition, a multitude of predators from mammals to ants, this Thomas understood very well, he use to bag gravid reptiles and take them for a 20 minute ride in the bake of his pick up!
This usually was enough for them to produce the necessary hormones to provoke nesting, of course the artificial and less desirable option is oxitocin injection, but why gamble with dosage when reptiles can do this on there own in appropriate and safe dosage.

Sins Thomas explained this concept, Iv don this with a multitude of egg bond reptiles with 100% success. If you feel your female is restless let me know, till then no worry.

Rgds

FroggieB Oct 08, 2006 05:09 PM

Jobi, you must understand, it is not so much worry as it is excitement! It is almost as much fun as waiting to see that new grand-baby. Now, note, I did say 'almost!'

You recall that I said how long it took to aquire my armata. I got a pair and then the female died egg bound. The male died after I purchased a group of 3.2, would have been 3.3 but one female died before my contact could ship them. None of them survived. Then came this batch and I did lose 2 and was able to get one replacement from my contact and all are doing well. So, I paid for 15 animals altogether and lost 8 of those. So to see 2 reproduce in their first season in my care is so rewarding. If I see this go full cycle and have the babies hatch then that wait will have been more than worth it.

Hatching and watching my coronata varients has been a real joy in the say regard. The difference is that I never expected to find them. I just happened to aquire a female from a girl on this forum and then another turned up on the other forum who had 2 males. It took me months to convince her that they were both males and then we traded species. Then my contact in Florida got me a second pair with the 4 armata that didn't survive. They produced and I have nice babies that are already promised to future breeders!

Anyway, I think I will save the car ride for the last resort. The vet is 2 hours away so you and Ingo would both get you requests if it came down to either one being the end result. Our vet here won't even look at a reptile, is scared to death of them! I know that everyone told me that a long ride on a bumpy road would induce labor when I was near the end of my pregnancy with my daughter. It didn't work. She took 10 months but I survived, natural labor and only 2 1/2 hours of it! I was up scrubbing floors all day the day before she was born, must have been restless. Waiting does that to you!

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

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