Ovulation this early?

[gothra]

Is it normal to ovulate this time of the year? The girl that I plan on breeding has lost interest in food for over a week now. She used to eat tonnes, and then just stopped (wouldn't even look at her food) since the start of October. I have not changed anything in her enclosure; the only difference is that the weather has cooled down quite a bit, outside temperature has dropped from 32-33C to 24-25C. There were a few days when I turned off the AC and openned all the windows which caused the humidity to rise to 60%.

I don't know if that made her not want to eat or the change in weather kicked off her ovulation schedule. I just checked on her belly, I suspect she is ovulating. Can you please check if there is anything abnormal looking in her belly? The pics aren't good, but I can't hold her still with one hand...

If she is in case ovulating, shall I put her in with my male now? Do they usually stop eating all together when they ovulate?? I have 2 other females that will stop eating during ovulation, but that is usually after January.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

My eyesight may just be bad, but I think I'm seeing eggs as well as a follicle! In which case, she's getting ready to lay eggs, while also ovulating at the same time. Might want someone else to come in and have a look-see.

 

[gothra]

Geez, I'm getting so nervous right now. I have kept leos since 2002, and I have never ever put together 2 geckos! I watched all the gecko-mating videos in youtube, and just literaly drilled the last hole in my homemade incubator on Sunday!! Haven't even turned it on yet!! I was going to let it run for 2 months to make sure the temperature will stay steady.

Believe it or not, my heart is pounding and hands shaking right now. I'm freaking out thinking that I need to introduce Marly to Zhului in the next few days!

p.s. I did felt her belly for lumps and bumps, but I don't feel anything.

 

[robin]

she is indeed ovulating

dont be nervous bonnie. you will be fine

 

[gixxer3420]

My leos started ovulating in September. Just an early start this year from my girls. I'm guessing the same thing is happening with yours as well.

 

[gothra]

So, if this is the case, I need to ask questions!

Here is my plan: I'm going to put some of Marly's rocks in her enclosure, so she can get use to his scent. I'll also do the same with Marly. After several days of getting familiar with each others scent, I'll introduce Marly (male) into Zhului's enclosure. I'll take away all her furnishing when doing this, just in case one bites the other, I can intervene quickly. I'm going to sit there for hours to watch for copulation, when done, I'll put Marly back to his home. I don't want to leave him with her overnight; in case anything bad happen while I'm not watching. (Yes, I know I'm a overly protective mom). I'll put them together again the next night for a second mating. After that, I will just calmly wait for eggs; which should be laid after 2-3 weeks. If I see bullseye, that means its fertile.

I'm hoping to get male babies, so I'll incubate them at 90F. I can't tell how well my homemade incubator works at the moment, I just switched it on, have to see over the next few days if temps are stable. I will only candle when they're first laid, I won't intefere with the incubation afterwards. That means I don't want to open the lid for air exchange; so I drilled a few small holes on the lid. At 90F, the eggs should hatch around 35-45 days. If they mold, that means they're not fertile or the egg died; I can throw them away. Otherwise, I should keep incubating.

Please comment on my plan. I tried to read as much as possible over the last 2 months; I really don't want to mess up.

 

[robin]

that sounds good bonnie. i would put him in more than two times. maybe a few more mating. generally i wait til i get good eggs but a few matings will be fine

just keep an eye on your incubator temp for fluctuations. a couple of weeks should be ok to get stable temps

 

[Jordan]

wait. what are you guys spotting on this gecko that shows she's ovulating?

this belly looks normal to me...

 

[gothra]

The pink spot in the 2nd pic.

 

[gothra]

I have another question. Since she has not eaten for a week, I don't suppose she'll eat in the coming days. If I go ahead to breed her on the weekend, will she resume eating? Or will she keep fasting till she lays?

 

[OneFootedAce]

Some will continue to eat until a few days before she lays, some wont. No need to worry if she doesnt. All normal She should pound down the food once she does lay however lol.

Good luck!!

 

[Taquiq]

I have another question. Since she has not eaten for a week, I don't suppose she'll eat in the coming days. If I go ahead to breed her on the weekend, will she resume eating? Or will she keep fasting till she lays?

+1 with Adam. One of my females goes off food a week before laying so that could be a sign for eggs. Feed her a lot after she lays and until she stops eating again. But yeah it all depends on the female.

 

[gothra]

Ok, thanks for the help. But since she stopped eating already, and I haven't even put her with a male yet. Counting the days, if she doesn't eat again after pairing, its going to be at least a month without food before she has eggs to lay...? Is this really ok?

I added a dish of Repashy Calcium Plus in her tank, I hope she'll at least go lick some of those even if she doesn't want to eat.

 

[GeckoGal]

Most females stop eating when they ovulate. She should resume eating even when she is gravid. a couple of mine never stop eating- other stop for both ovulation and egg laying (more common) It depends on the gecko. As long as she's at a healthy weight, she'll be fine.

 

[softballstud_1099]

I have a Mack snow enigma that just started to ovulate. I think some girls are just late ovulators. lol It will all work out.

Good luck

Brent

 

[fallen_angel]

Yes she's definitely ovulating
As others have said, each gecko is different so it's hard to say what she will do but try not to worry too much about her not eating for a long period of time. If she does go a few weeks, you may not even notice much of a weight change, but really just take things one day at a time since this is her first time and you won't know what to expect until it happens.

I think your breeding plan sounds good, definitely watch the incubator to make sure the temps stay constant. It's also a good idea to keep a container of water inside of the incubator to act as a heat sync. Water takes longer to change in temperature than air and so doing this helps keep drastic temp. changes from happening inside of the incubator.

Also, I think it is important to candle the egg when found to find the bullseye and once found, make sure the bullseye is facing up/at the top of the egg when it is positioned in the incubation container. Some breeders say to just put the eggs in the container the same way you find them, but I often find eggs that are positioned with the bullseye on the bottom and believe keeping it on the bottom will make the embryo drown. I was using this technique last season and had an amazing hatch rate.

Anyway, best of luck to you with everything, I'm super excited for you! Try not to stress too much

 

[gothra]

Thanks for the tips Jess. I put them together for 2 sessions last night, she was receptive and just sat there, let Marly nip her all over. But Marly is a first timer also, he doesn't seem to know how to get it done yet...I'll give him a couple days to cool down and think it through, then try again.

Zhului resumed eating last night, after seeing Marly!

 

[fallen_angel]

That's GREAT news!!! She just needed some lovin' :heart:
Congratulations Bonnie!