weight loss during ovulation?

[syntheticreality]

is female weight loss during ovulation normal?

do they get too stressed to eat?

 

[shadowx362]

well it depends obviously after egg laying the weight of the eggs will go down but they should continue eating thought out the laying season and recuperating before the next eggs are layed. but maybe will not eat before they lay. How big of a weight loss are you experiencing?

 

[syntheticreality]

a slow trickle of a couple of grams

 

[Stitch]

First, every female is different. In my experiences the females eat up until a few of days before laying. After they have laid they start feeding again. Even though they are eating they still experience weight loss. Use your best judgement. Now if she is losing too much weight I've heard that you can cool her down and this can help stop her from laying any more this season.

 

[2.1SRR.YYC]

I'm going through the same thing with one of my females so I took her in to see my vet Tuesday. She's lost 15g since breeding and is by far by biggest weight looser. She was 59g when she was first breed on Jan 19. She's not dealing with ovulation and egg laying very well.

The vet gave me some Avi BOOST. It's an avian nutrition booster (also good for reptiles) that contains a concentration of fatty acids. It's administered orally via syringe. Kind of a fat "pick me up". I'm supposed to feed her twice a day until she stops the weight loss. He also gave me a meal replacement powder (mixed with water when used) that is high in calcium to be administered in the same way.

Since the vet visit she's layed another clutch and seems to be eating OK so I'm holding off on the BOOSTER for now. I'll monitor her weight closely and start the routine if she continues to decline.

BTW the vet is a reptile specialist so I imagine he sees this kind of thing all the time...

 

[syntheticreality]

the weight loss in mine is very minor and my scale is not very accurate.

The female in question ate a super worm from me a couple of days ago. I just dont see the mealies in the tank disappearing fast. I probably need to put fewer in there so I can keep a better count.

The other female seems like she only wants to have a snack when its a wax worm, lol

Should I be giving them a lot of extra fat during this time?

 

[Stitch]

If the weight loss is minor then I would just concentrate on gut loading and supplementing the feeders. You could add in some waxies, but it's probably better for the developing eggs to get some good nutrition.

It doesn't sound like you have much to worry about Jason.