Am I being paranoid?

[Lithuin]

Last month I took on the care of a breeding pair of leopard geckos. My husband has had them before, but we've never had multiples, or a breeding pair. So, we stocked up on knowledge and thought we were prepared....

Anyhow, my lady Bella is gravid. When we received her the owner thought she might be, but wasn't for sure. That being said, if she were gravid when we got her, she'd be about 7 weeks now, and has yet to lay her clutch. I have an adequate laying area that she adores, and digs in... But no eggs yet.

She's eating great, and is active. She's just finished shedding and is very temperamental. I tried separating her from her mate, but she became more stressed and started chirping until I returned her. Should I be worried?

Now, for my male Lucius...

He's always been an active boy. He just finished shedding and is looking quite handsome, but his appetite has been off the last few weeks and he's lost a little weight in his tail. His feces is also a little whiter than normal.

He is still fairly active, but I can never catch him eating. His tail is still thick, but I can tell a slight difference.

I'm just not sure if I'm being paranoid or if I should be concerned. My husband thinks because I'm pregnant I worry too much.....

Any input is welcome! Thanks!

 

[fuzzylogix]

if the female were gravid, you would be able to clearly see the eggs through the skin on her underside. the first things to check anytime there seems to be stress are their living conditions. most important are temps. hot side should be around 95 degrees on the surface. there should be a normal hide on the hot side and a moist hide on the cool side. what kind of substrate are you using? are you using an under tank heater for heat? if the male is losing weight, you might have to seperate them during feeding so that you can monitor his intake. the female may just be snatching up all the food before he gets a chance.

 

[Lithuin]

Oh, we can see the eggs now. We couldn't see them until about Christmas though, so we're thinking maybe the previous owner was mistaken about her being gravid. She's perfectly fine so long as I don't try to handle her for long or move her. It's just a contrast from before when she was easily handled. I thought separating her would help, but it made it much worse.

The cool side has a moist hide, and the hot side has a normal one. The temps range from 72/75 at the coldest to 95 on the hot side. I use a small undertank heater and a 75W moonglow lamp. They seem to prefer the cool side most of the time.

The substrate is a type of soil that came with them. I had to order carpet online, and it has yet to arrive. Neither show signs of impaction. Also, I feed them both crickets and mealworms. I gut load them, and dust them with calcium every other feeding. I have a calcium dish in the tank as well. There are never any 'left overs' and I feed them every 2 days.

I think I will try separating my male during feedings to see if she's snatching his food, as she eats whatever I put in front of her. Thank you!

 

[fuzzylogix]

7 weeks is a long time for a female to be gravid though, since this is your first gecko pairing are you sure you are seeing eggs? if you could post a pic that would help. as far as substrate, loose soil in my opinion is a bad option. instead of carpet i would suggest paper towels, butchers paper, or tile. much easier to clean and their nails and teeth can get stuck in the carpet. if the male isn't eating, and losing weight, that is a sign of impaction, parasites, stress, any number of things. you might want to seperate them for a few days so that you can watch his eating habits and see if he is defacating normally.

 

[jemjdragon]

You say the female gets stressed when you try to move her to a different tank? Maybe instead move the male? It might be better for him too if you say he's losing weight. She could just be getting stressed with the new environment not because the male is gone.

 

[Lithuin]

Well, the 7 weeks is if the prev owner was right, and she didn't seem very knowledgeable about them... From the time we thought she was pregnant, she'd be about 4 1/2 weeks. She was definitely more irritable tonight when we took these photos.

On the bright side, my male seems to have put the weight back on, so I'm wondering if it wasn't shedding related.

Anyhow, here's the male-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/RavynArashi/100_1321.jpg
and HIS belly-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/RavynArashi/100_1322.jpg

And this is my female-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/RavynArashi/100_1324.jpg
Her belly pic didn't turn out great, it's really blurry, but I hope you can see it well enough-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/RavynArashi/100_1325.jpg

 

[fuzzylogix]

they both look healthy to me and are very nice looking leos. it's kinda hard to tell from that pic of the female's belly if she is indeed gravid. i would just keep an eye on her. if she's digging in her moist hide, she could be getting ready to lay. if you start seeing a change in feeding habits or in behavior with her, and she still hasn't laid, might be worth a vet visit. you don't want to lose her because she is egg bound. hopefully though she will lay and you will get two fertile eggs. keep us posted. as far as the male, he looks good. i would still seperate him just to make sure he is eating. and yes, shedding can cause them to stop feeding in some cases.

 

[Lithuin]

Thanks! I have a 20 gal ready to transfer him, so I'll do that tomorrow when I feed them.

Do you know what kind of tile would be best for them? I see what you mean about the carpet being a bad idea.

 

[fuzzylogix]

some people use ceramic tiles, others use the stick down type of tiles. the thicker the tiles though, the less heat dispersion you will get on the surface.

 

[Jordan]

from that pic of the females belly i would say she isnt gravvid.

 

[prettyinpink]

I use slate tiles...people keep saying they don't get enough heat...mine gets VERY hot. But both my uth are the same brand and put out different heat :main_rolleyes:

 

[Dog Shrink]

2 uth on the same tank Erica or 2 uth on 2 different tanks with slate?

For the op, Iprefer the vinyl simulated slate tiles. Easy to use, stcik to the floor of the tank so nomoisture gets under them, easy to cut and shape to the tank, aren't subject to the rules of thermodynamics that natural stone, porcelain and slate are. Heat seems to go thru where the heat source is insted of dispursing thru the entire surface of the slate. If you do decide to go with slate, please use natural slate not porcelain or cermaic as their design is to actually be more of a thermal barrier rather than a natural heat distributer like slate or natural stone can be with the proper uth. I would consider going the next size up on the uth if you're planning on using slate.

If you'd like to see how a tank looks using slate there's some pix of my tank in my user profile photo album that could give you a better idea.

 

[Lithuin]

Wanted to update!

Bella laid two gorgeous eggs a few days ago. My male is eating, but I think his vision has gotten worse, as I have to take the legs off the crickets and put them close for him to notice them. The herp said he's healthy as could be though!

Thanks for everyone's input!