"Breed Her"

[SamsonizeMe]

A while back I made a post about my Super Giant APTOR girl that wouldn't eat. Well, she still won't eat. It's been about seven weeks and I can count on three hands all that she's gotten down and kept down. I am quite sure I see egg bulges in her abdomen. They are of course not fertilized, as I had no plan to breed her at least until she reached 100+ grams. She is currently 66g; she was 70g when I got her in May. She has been as low as 63g. This is mostly water weight fluctuation I guess.

She is a little less than 7 months old so she has the potential to grow a lot more. Can she permanently stunt her growth with this hunger strike? This isn't some food-preference ploy, she has had the opportunity to eat many different foods and doesn't want any of them.

I can't force-feed this girl, she is wholly unreceptive to that so it's not worth my time or hers. If she were more unhealthy I would be pushing slurry. Her tail has thinned out but it's no emergency. She sheds normally. She's just not growing. I leave mealworms and waxworms in her food dish that she doesn't touch. I isolate her with food and she doesn't care. It seems like a lot of unnecessary anorexia, especially compared with her neighbor who eats like it's going out of style, even while super-pregnant. That girl has the fattest tail out of all of my geckos.

My question is this: At least one reputable breeder has told me to just let her breed with one of my boys. That it's more natural and easy on her system than going through laying infertile eggs or reabsorbing them. Or a decreased risk of egg-binding. That it will get her metabolism moving again. If I don't, will this be the only time this season that she ovulates to this degree, making that better than having her lay multiple fertile clutches? I am trying to weigh the options and pick what is best overall for her.

I am fully prepared for whatever eggs she produces.

 

[ElapidSVT]

it's possible that breeding her could stimulate her to feed normally again, however, if she doesn't kick into feeding mode, by the end of the season she's going to be pretty far gone.

otoh, if you get some viable eggs from her, at least you've preserved the genetics.

i have one giant female that i got from one of the big breeders that refused to switch over to superworms. after a year or so i finally gave in and put in a mealworm dish. i keep it full of mealies and she's back to a more normal weight and pumping out the eggs this season.

good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[Pinky81]

My female would fluctuate 10grams while laying eggs. Yours is holding her own. if you try to push it you take the chance of actually losing her. not worth it IMO.

 

[Thorgecko707]

id wait and if you have to breed put her through a photocycle later. but its so close to january anyways so it would be better to hold off.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Something I have questioned but haven't investigated is, for giants and super giants, doesn't it seem logical their breeding weight would be higher, for them to be considered sexually mature? If the 50 gram mark is for normal sized leopards, why wouldn't 70 or 80 be the mark for genetically larger geckos?

As far as breeding to stimulate a feeding response to end the hunger strike, personally I wouldn't count on that. Often times there are frequent hunger strikes while a female is gravid and actively laying eggs. Whether it matters or not that the eggs are any good, it takes a lot of nutrition from the female's body to lay eggs, which can compromise her health if she is not in top condition to start. I'd hold off a bit and get her going first, without adding ay potential stressors. Sometimes a few simple environmental changes can help, maybe a temp change, new hide, or even move the enclosure to a different spot in the room. Small, seemingly insignificant changes can do strange things at times.

They ovulate more than once a year

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

I think we all forget sometimes that the animals dictate when they want to reach their peak in size and sexual maturity. These are things that we have very little control over. So my personal opinion is if a gecko is at a decent breeding size to where they will be able to rebound weight then they are safe to breed.

Now lets move on to the genetics....The "Giant Gene" doesn't exsist IMO. It's a polygenic trait that in time increases the size of the gecko. Will your gecko ever get to be 100g maybe yes maybe no, but you can't control it with genetics outside of line breeding.

 

[SamsonizeMe]

She just ate on her own, at last.

That was a two months and ten days long hunger strike. Nine and a half weeks.

(Also she was not bred - not that she would have let Valentine try it anyway! HA.)

 

[prettyinpink]

Good to hear she's back at eating! Hope all stays well