Young gecko full of duds! Help?

[Dinosaur!]

Okay, so my youngest, smallest gecko, Damsel, decided to jump on the pregnancy train. She was very clearly ovulating about a week ago, and now the follicles have grown much larger. My question is, do you think she will reabsorb them? She IS 52 grams, and i weighed her only a few minutes ago to make sure. i know that thats a decent weight, but she is only eight months old, and shes long, but not very big. I'm afraid that if she does lay them they will be too much for her to handle. Also i heard that fertile eggs tend to be smaller, and take less out of the females. Is there any proof behind this? Because if the eggs keep growing inside of her, i could introduce her to a male, and just not incubate the eggs so that the eggs dont take so much out of her. Does anyone have any other ideas? thank you everyone in advance for any advice or opinions!

here are some pictures of her to show you how big she is:

and here is her belly, where you can clearly see the follicles:

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I think those are still of a size where she can reabsorb them. Only when they have a shell put on them do they reach the point of "no return" and the female has to lay them. I had several small females go nuts ovulating last season and some had ovulates bigger than your girl and they never laid an egg. They're happy and breeding this season

 

[DrCarrotTail]

If you want her to stop ovulating it sometimes helps to move her away from any male or breeding geckos you may have, never handle males or breeding geckos before her so she can't smell them as readily. Also lowering the temperature in her tank a few degrees to about 87-88 may help stop her trying to breed. Good luck!

 

[Dinosaur!]

i really do hope that she reabsorbs them! ill move her tonight while im cleaning, and take your advice. but what if it becomes obvious that she isn't going to reabsorb them? Is there any validity in the infertile vs. fertile egg size?

 

[Dinosaur!]

hey guys, we have a problem! Damsel's ovules are definately growing to egg-ish size. so do you think that they are to big for her to absorb now? if you do, could someone please answer my question from the previous post? thank you guys! (excuse the paint on my hands! i just got out of my painting class!)

 

[acpart]

I can't imagine any logical reason for fertile eggs to take more out of the female than nonfertile ones. I have had geckos in the 50 gram range lay eggs with no problem.

Aliza

 

[Dinosaur!]

me neither really, biut i have seen alot of people claim that infertile eggs tend to be larger and less calcified, increasing the risk of egg binding... i wasnt sure, but it couldnt hurt to ask

 

[acpart]

It seems to me that if the eggs are less calcified, they would pass more easily. I'm no expert, though.

Aliza

 

[Dinosaur!]

yeah, this could be an interesting research topic, huh? find out the validity to these claims.


either way, i DO have room for lots of babies right now, and a huge mealworm colony to support them. since she is obviously going to lay these eggs regardless, i am thinking about trying to pair her with my SHTCTB, Dinosaur. I believe he is sterile, but he just may have not been ready to breed in the past. I could probably make some very pretty tangs that way, along with being a step closer to figuring out more of her genetics. any input on that?

 

[acpart]

It never hurts to try, though it seems that the only genetics you know for sure about both of them is the SHTCT so unless they're both het for the same thing I don't think you're going to find out much more. Nice orange prospects, though.

Aliza

 

[Dinosaur!]

I do know that Dino isnt het for anything, but you have a very valid point.... hmmm.... something for me to sleep on tonight huh?

 

[acpart]

Orange is always good.

Aliza

 

[Dinosaur!]

Well Damsel finally laid some eggs last night! i decided to breed her to dinosaur at the last minute (a week ago or so) so we will wait and see if these eggs are good or not. She was ravenously hungry and attacked my fingers trying to get the worms i was holding after she laid, and will fatten up again quickly sadly, i weighed he an hour ago, and she is only a measly 47 grams hopefully she can gain some weight back before her next clutch gets too big, but i already see them forming...

 

[DrCarrotTail]

The eggs weigh about 2-3g each so you can expect a female to lose at least 4-6 grams right after laying a pair. If they're losing more than 10g per clutch and don't gain at least half that back in between I would probably start to worry. Good luck with them!

 

[Dinosaur!]

thank you for the advice DrCarrotTail!I had no idea how much the eggs wieghed, because i just put them in the incubator as soon as i find them. she is already eating a ton of food, so hopefully she can gain that weight back nicely