Leopard Gecko Gravid??

Hello! My name is Edwin and I'm new to this forum. I currently own 3 reptiles: a bearded dragon who I got when he was a few weeks old (now 3 months old), a crested gecko (1 month old), and the newest addition Athena, the 1 year old leopard gecko.

I purchased her from the Dixie Reptile show in Atlanta, Georgia and when I was talking to the lady about her, she said that all of her females had been with males and could be gravid.

I was unsure if there were any signs of eggs developing when I got her a week ago, but she didn't eat much. (2 baby roaches if anything.) She pooped a little then. I thought that she might have been fed mealworms before and went ahead and got her some. She didn't eat until 2 days ago (10 mealworms) and hasn't pooped in 2 days.

I was wondering if this was normal gravid behavior or should I worry about possible impaction.

Here are some pictures of her from the side and above:


Here are some pictures of her belly:

Looks as she may have some eggs. Make sure you have a moist hide so she has somewhere to lay her eggs

Thanks for the quick response! I do have a hide box in there for now. I'll post pictures to see if its set up correctly. The medium is currently vermiculite.


Is the not eating/pooping normal? Also, she doesn't seem to like being in her lay box hide, is there something else I could do?

Did you take a lighter to the lid to melt it slightly so it wasn't sharp? Also make sure the humid hide is on the hot side of the tank. When I first got my geckos one of them didn't eat for the first four days

I did take a lighter to the edges. It was actually done with a wood burner.
She does eat every now and then. Small amounts but she's eating.
Aaaaand she finally pooped! Twice!

She weighs 49g. Is this a healthy weight for her? I will move her humid hide to the warm side and see if she likes it any better...

xCursedWolf said:

I did take a lighter to the edges. It was actually done with a wood burner.
She does eat every now and then. Small amounts but she's eating.
Aaaaand she finally pooped! Twice!

She weighs 49g. Is this a healthy weight for her? I will move her humid hide to the warm side and see if she likes it any better...

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It isn't uncommon for Leos to not eat during the week that they are ovulating and they will ovulate while they are gravid. They also will probably not eat when they get close to laying their eggs.

49g isn't terrible, but if you can get her weight up that would be good. Making the eggs takes a lot of energy so often times they will lose weight during the breeding and laying season. Try giving her a few waxworms a week. You may try different worms to stimulate her appetite as well (hornworms, silkworms, etc) or dubia roaches. Make sure she is getting plenty of calcium. Making the eggs takes a lot of calcium and can zap it from bone health. Keeping a dish of plain calcium (no D3) in her tank is a great idea and dusting all feeders with a vitamin and calcium supplement w/D3 is good for her. I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus. It is meant for use with each feeding and requires no mixing. Pet Co sells it or you can order online. [emoji4]

If she still won't use her lay box and you haven't tried it yet you can try setting her inside of it. If she has never had a humid hide or lay box before she may not know what one is. Most geckos really like Eco-Earth (coco fiber) and it can double as a humid hide, so you may want to try that instead as your medium. Vermiculite is really more of a laying and incubating medium than a humid hide medium, I think. That could be why she doesn't want to get inside of it, also.

Update:

So she seems to go into her lay box a lot more often. I've also fed her a few wax worms to try and get her weight up a little before she lays the eggs. She looks a lot more plump and her tail looks a bit thicker already.

Here are some updated pictures of her stomach:





Does this look healthy? I'm sorry for being paranoid but I just want to make sure everything is going normal and well.

She seems healthy to me. Those look like decent fat pads to me and the pictures from before show a pretty good reserve in her tail. Continue feeding her what she will eat up until she lays and inbetween clutches and she should do just fine. [emoji4]

cowana said:

She seems healthy to me. Those look like decent fat pads to me and the pictures from before show a pretty good reserve in her tail. Continue feeding her what she will eat up until she lays and inbetween clutches and she should do just fine. [emoji4]

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First of all, thank you for your constant help.

After all those pictures is there any confirmation that she is gravid after all?

xCursedWolf said:

First of all, thank you for your constant help.

After all those pictures is there any confirmation that she is gravid after all?

Click to expand...

You are very welcome! [emoji4]

I can't actually see any eggs because she has well-developed fat pads. However, her bulging sides and the fact that I can see the vein in her belly distinctly leads me to believe that she is most likely gravid. I would continue to prepare yourself for eggs. [emoji4]