kind of worried

[tattooshish]

about a month ago, I bought a female mack snow at a show (hudson valley,ny). The guy who sold it to me told me she was pregnant. She has the correct setup. she has a box to lay in. everything is all set. she is feeding on everything I'll put in her tank. so... she's healthy. but she won't pop those eggs out. should I be worried ?

 

[ziggi365]

Well the first thing id say to you is, is she really pregrent? If your shore then im not shore on what to do.

 

[supperl]

Well if she has over a month eggs in her I would say visit the vet. Even if she was just starting to builde the eggs she should have laid them in 2 or 3 week if I´m not wrong. And if she´s realy pregnent thats not good.

 

[malt_geckos]

Check first to see if you see any ovums. You can turn her over with the light off and put a flashlight to her side. You should obviously see the eggs. Or you can slightly bend her backwards over you hand. You will see one to two white circles in her tummy.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Maybe the seller actually meant that she was ovulating but had not been bred? Females can re-absorb eggs that are not fertile. We've had a few females that we've watched breed re-absorb and just never lay any eggs either. So if you can't see the eggs or ovum in her belly I wouldn't worry about it too much. If there are very obvious eggs, you may consider taking her to the vet to rule out egg binding. Here's a link to pictures that should help you: http://www.leopardgeckobreeder.com/Care/care.html

 

[tattooshish]

thanks for all your help guys.

she is definately pregnant. she's huge, and I can clearly see her eggs through her belly. I was not aware of re-absorption, that is pretty awesome that they do that. I'm going to keep an eye on her for the next week and see what happens. I'm going to avoid going to the vet unless it is vital , as I am really broke right now. As I said, she is eating just fine, and acting normal, so... nothing leads me to believe she's sick, but the amount of time is definately worrysome. What's the longest you've had a gravid female take before laying her eggs ?

 

[Stitch]

Where is the egg laying box located? What is the substrate in it? Is it moist?

 

[tattooshish]

Where is the egg laying box located? What is the substrate in it? Is it moist?

the egg laying box is on the cool side of a 10 gallon tank that gets to 95 degrees during the day, and about 80 degrees at night (on the hot side) . It is a fairly large hide filled with moist vermiculite about an inch and a half deep. I check it every day to make sure its moist. Its her favorite place to sleep. I would say she spends about 3/4 of her day in that hide, until the evening when she goes hunting.

 

[Stitch]

I would try placing it on the warm end.

My one female laid all of her eggs on the cool side of the tank. But this year they were all on the warm end. So my suggestion is to cover your butt and place an egg laying chamber on both ends, if room permits.

 

[malt_geckos]

Yeah, the warm end may work well because instinct tells them to lay where the temperatures are a bit warmer so the eggs can hatch. But either side should be warm enough. How many eggs can you see? She should only have one or two in there. If there's more all stuck in the same area, you really need to take her to the vet.

 

[tattooshish]

I can clearly see two large white ovals.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

If she is eating well, then she is not ready to lay her eggs. She will stop eating and start digging a few days before she's ready.