Egg Laying?

[Samantha12]

So my leopard geckos mated some time between Feb 9-13 and I have seen the eggs in my diablo blancos stomach, but she still hasn't laid any eggs and it's been 4 and a half weeks... Looking in her stomach, the eggs don't even look very big (they don't look like she's ready to lay them), but it's been so long that maybe they're just not very visible in there but they are actually big. She's spent all of today in the laying hide, but doesn't seem restless or like she's preparing to lay. I'm leaving town tonight until Sunday so I'm wondering if y'all think I should take her with me in a ten gallon tank just in case the eggs come? I have a legit incubator, but I also have a Styrofoam cooler I've transformed into an incubator, so I could take that with me too in case she does lay them. My question is, would it be safe to move her if she is trying to lay? It's an hour and a half drive to where I'm going.

 

[SC Geckos]

I would not recommend rehousing/moving a gecko that could potentially be getting ready to lay eggs. It will cause alot of stress.
Did you actually see them breed? Do you have any pictures of these "eggs" in her belly? It almost sounds like you are seeing her fat stores instead of eggs. 4 1/2 weeks seems like a long time from breeding to laying. Most of my girls, once they are paired they usually lay within 3 weeks. Not to say it can't take longer because every animal is different.
If she is gravid, the only other thing I can think of that could make the process take longer would be if she is not supplemented properly. In this case it takes longer for her to produce (for lack of a better term) the eggs.

 

[Samantha12]

I would not recommend rehousing/moving a gecko that could potentially be getting ready to lay eggs. It will cause alot of stress.
Did you actually see them breed? Do you have any pictures of these "eggs" in her belly? It almost sounds like you are seeing her fat stores instead of eggs. 4 1/2 weeks seems like a long time from breeding to laying. Most of my girls, once they are paired they usually lay within 3 weeks. Not to say it can't take longer because every animal is different.
If she is gravid, the only other thing I can think of that could make the process take longer would be if she is not supplemented properly. In this case it takes longer for her to produce (for lack of a better term) the eggs.

So I ended up not taking her. My roommate said she spent the first night in the egg laying hide, but when I got back earlier today she was no longer in there and there were no eggs. I have attached two pictures where you can pretty clearly see the eggs, however these were taken Feb 20th. I'd rather not try to take another now because it really stresses her out, but they only look a little bigger (still round like that, not oval/egg-shaped) and now they're much more pink than yellow... I have heard that some geckos can take 7 weeks to lay their first batch. Is that true? Does the pinkish color mean something's wrong or that the eggs or more developed? Help would be awesome :main_no:

 

[SC Geckos]

Looking at the pictures from my phone it looks like they are just really large ovulations at this point. From my experience my girls take around 3 to maybe 4 weeks from the time they breed till the time they drop the first clutch. Some females can take longer, there are alot of variables. I wait until my girls ovulations are around 3/8" or slightly larger before pairing them with the males. I would not be to worried at this point just make sure she has a warm moist lay box and do not disturb her. Just curious... how much does she weigh and how old is she??

 

[Samantha12]

Looking at the pictures from my phone it looks like they are just really large ovulations at this point. From my experience my girls take around 3 to maybe 4 weeks from the time they breed till the time they drop the first clutch. Some females can take longer, there are alot of variables. I wait until my girls ovulations are around 3/8" or slightly larger before pairing them with the males. I would not be to worried at this point just make sure she has a warm moist lay box and do not disturb her. Just curious... how much does she weigh and how old is she??

I've looked at ovulating geckos and I thought that it was one smaller circle in the middle of the belly. Does it often happen that they have two where the eggs develop? She's 55 grams and 2 years old. Should I put her back in with my male or wait to see if any eggs come out?

 

[SC Geckos]

I've looked at ovulating geckos and I thought that it was one smaller circle in the middle of the belly. Does it often happen that they have two where the eggs develop? She's 55 grams and 2 years old. Should I put her back in with my male or wait to see if any eggs come out?

That is correct about the placement of the ovulations in most pictures you will see. However, The ovulations will move farther down in the body to where they get coated in a calcium matrix (egg shell). At that point they will generally be in the area of the abdomen that they finish developing and where you would typically see the eggs.
I would leave her separated from the male at this point and give her some time to herself. Once the ovulation process reaches a certain point she will no longer be receptive to a male. At least this is my experience. Others may have different opinions.

 

[Samantha12]

That is correct about the placement of the ovulations in most pictures you will see. However, The ovulations will move farther down in the body to where they get coated in a calcium matrix (egg shell). At that point they will generally be in the area of the abdomen that they finish developing and where you would typically see the eggs.
I would leave her separated from the male at this point and give her some time to herself. Once the ovulation process reaches a certain point she will no longer be receptive to a male. At least this is my experience. Others may have different opinions.

I'm still sort of confused, sorry... you're saying she's ovulating, but don't put her with a male and that the ovulations are moving down her body and getting coated with calcium as though an egg is forming even though it's not? And when she's done it'll all just disappear?
I guess I'm also confused because I had her last year during mating season and she never got so wide in the "hips" as she is now, and I could feel something more solid in her stomach. One of my coworkers once had their leos breed on accident and said the eggs looked very pink in the belly right before they were laid...

 

[SC Geckos]

I'm still sort of confused, sorry... you're saying she's ovulating, but don't put her with a male and that the ovulations are moving down her body and getting coated with calcium as though an egg is forming even though it's not? And when she's done it'll all just disappear?
I guess I'm also confused because I had her last year during mating season and she never got so wide in the "hips" as she is now, and I could feel something more solid in her stomach. One of my coworkers once had their leos breed on accident and said the eggs looked very pink in the belly right before they were laid...

No. Simply put.... I think your females ovulations have already been fertilized and are now getting ready to be "shelled" and become eggs.

As far as putting the female with the male, I was just trying to say that there is sort of a "window of opportunity" for leos to breed. When the ovulations reach a certain size the female will be receptive to a male. Once the ovulation process reaches a certain point the female will no longer be receptive to a male. If the gecko was fertilized in that "window of opportunity" then the eggs will be produced. If she was not, then she will either lay a clutch of infertile eggs or re-absorb the ovulations.
I think it would be a great idea for you to get Ron Trempers book on leopard geckos. There is alot of information that should be learned about the breeding process before attempting to breed. It makes things easier and takes most of the guess work out of the breeding process.

 

[Samantha12]

No. Simply put.... I think your females ovulations have already been fertilized and are now getting ready to be "shelled" and become eggs.

As far as putting the female with the male, I was just trying to say that there is sort of a "window of opportunity" for leos to breed. When the ovulations reach a certain size the female will be receptive to a male. Once the ovulation process reaches a certain point the female will no longer be receptive to a male. If the gecko was fertilized in that "window of opportunity" then the eggs will be produced. If she was not, then she will either lay a clutch of infertile eggs or re-absorb the ovulations.
I think it would be a great idea for you to get Ron Trempers book on leopard geckos. There is alot of information that should be learned about the breeding process before attempting to breed. It makes things easier and takes most of the guess work out of the breeding process.

Thanks a lot for your help, I guess I'm just a nervous grandmother-to-be and I'm getting concerned because it's been so long since she mated. I didn't actually see the mating, but after seeing the eggs I just assumed. I ended up taking some pictures of her belly today. They really don't look much bigger to me... I'm just hoping the majority of their size is hidden from sight or something... It'd be my worst nightmare if she were egg bound. I've been feeding her as much as she'll eat and giving her plenty of calcium and she has two options of hides to lay in; one has vermiculite and the other has moss so I don't think the environment isn't suitable enough. To me the eggs still look quite small though. I'll definitely look into ordering this book ASAP

 

[SC Geckos]

Thanks a lot for your help, I guess I'm just a nervous grandmother-to-be and I'm getting concerned because it's been so long since she mated. I didn't actually see the mating, but after seeing the eggs I just assumed. I ended up taking some pictures of her belly today. They really don't look much bigger to me... I'm just hoping the majority of their size is hidden from sight or something... It'd be my worst nightmare if she were egg bound. I've been feeding her as much as she'll eat and giving her plenty of calcium and she has two options of hides to lay in; one has vermiculite and the other has moss so I don't think the environment isn't suitable enough. To me the eggs still look quite small though. I'll definitely look into ordering this book ASAP

No problem. These pictures still appear to be large ovulations IMO. Did you by chance see them breed? If not you could try and pair them again, just watch to see if she is receptive or not. If she bites the male back or is aggressive toward him separate them and wait it out to see if eggs do develop.

 

[Samantha12]

No problem. These pictures still appear to be large ovulations IMO. Did you by chance see them breed? If not you could try and pair them again, just watch to see if she is receptive or not. If she bites the male back or is aggressive toward him separate them and wait it out to see if eggs do develop.

I didn't see any mating. All I ever saw was some tail rattling on his part. In fact, I was worried that he wasn't interested in either of my female geckos. Right now, my sunglow is in the tank with him to try and mate, but maybe I'll switch her out for Luna to see if anything happens.