Loss of Weight in the Tail?

Samantha12

Member
Messages
134
Location
Michigan, USA
I've been trying to get my RAPTOR to breed with my Sunglow and Diablo Blanco for three months now (seemingly ineffectively). I've got the three of them in a 40 gallon breeder together. The first night, the male rattled his tail a lot, but I never saw any mating, nor has he rattled his tail since. My diablo blanco is far into ovulation, but doesn't seem gravid, and last night (Monday night) I noticed that her tail looked noticeably thinner, even though she's been eating regularly and I fed her on Saturday. I fed her last night and she ate 7 huge crickets, which is more than she usually eats. I checked the enclosure for eggs thinking she maybe she dropped the weight because she had layed, but there were none and I don't really think she's gravid. She's pooping normally and not showing any signs of being ill/having parasites. Any reason related to breeding that she would lose weight in her tail so suddenly?
 

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,589
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
I bought a cheap $8 gram scale on amazon and monitor the weight of my breeding females weekly to make sure they aren't losing too much weight. I also tong feed them dubia to make sure they are eating and not getting bullied out of food by the males or oth females. If they start looking sluggish or too thin I would separate them into their own tank again just to play it safe.

Other than laying eggs i cant think of anything that would cause her to just suddenly lose weight unless something is off with your temps or enclosure set up or husbandry. She could be losing weight from the stress of living with the other geckos or being bullied into hiding places that are less than ideal. Pictures of your set up and some more info about it would help. Has the other female laid eggs? Do they have a good lay box they can dig in? Three months is way more than long enough for them to have bred if they were inclined to. I would separate them for a month or two and fatten her up and try again later in the summer.
 

Samantha12

Member
Messages
134
Location
Michigan, USA
I feed all my geckos separately. The weight loss doesn't make her look unhealthy, I can just tell it's smaller. She still acts completely normal, I think it may be a fluke. I'm switching my third girl back into the big tank and putting my male in the other tank. I'm losing hope in breeding him
 

stager

New Member
Messages
2,109
Location
Jersey
I would feed something other then crickets if you plan on breeding not much nutrients in them
 

Visit our friends

Top