Young virgin leo laying lots of eggs?

[Alusdra]

So... I'm wondering if this happens to anyone else. Laurel is a Tremper Enigma, only 8 months old- and she's laid three eggs over the past ~week (it took me a while to confirm it was her as she's with other geckos). She's never been in with a male. She was 41 grams, but after laying the third is only 26 (?!?!) They have been really floppy- like water balloons, almost. And I'm not a breeder, but I seem to recall them being more... hard? Leo eggs aren't like bird eggs, but still have some stiffness to the shell, yes? Maybe it's not calcified??? I opened up one and there was this milky, maybe a bit yellowish goo inside- normal for unfertilized egg?

I fed her an adult male roach (newly shed) and she snatched it and gobbled it down. If she hadn't we'd be at the vet already. Now probably Monday- the herp vets leave at 5 I think, though they are there on Saturday (but not Sunday). Anyway- she's always been the best eater of the four baby enigmas I adopted, and possibly has the least 'enigma issues', depending on the day, though her tail is very short and kinked. So hopefully she bounces back pretty quick. But I really hope this isn't a chronic problem...

Does this happen to other people? She seems so young! Not yet a year. I know something similar can happen in cockatiels, where they are chronic layers... And iguanas you usually spay for this reason (spay the gecko???) I'm going to ask the vet as well, but I was hoping someone might have some experience with this sort of thing.
:main_huh:

Here's from a month ago- you can see how wide she is... in retrospect perhaps those lighter things on her belly are the eggs?


And then from just now (in natural sunlight showing of how pretty she is... even if she is skinny now. :main_no: )

 

[ElapidSVT]

sounds perfectly normal to me. not sure why you want to spend money on the vet, but if it makes you feel better, by all means... go for it. many times geckos will lay eggs whether they are fertile or not. just toss em in the garbage or whatever and make sure to keep her *very* well fed to keep the weight on.

good luck!

 

[lillith]

Well, there is this thread:

http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=37512

Maybe we could merge the threads? I'm terribly interested in how everyone else who is dealing with this has things turn out.

learning. experience. good.

I ordered some calcionate syrup for my girl and it gets here next week.

p.s. your girl is very pretty, btw

 

[Alusdra]

Ooh... I did forget about that thread from before! I was a bit panicked- I mean, she halved her weight! But she's eaten 3 adult male (newly shed and dusted Ca/D3) B. dubia and is now back up to 37 grams. The vet says that he actually can spay her. :shocked:

If she keeps doing this I think I will... and if it's not too expensive maybe just spay the lot of them, as they are all either too old to breed or have genetic troubles so they shouldn't be bred. It would certainly help with this spring-time ovulating panic (on my part). Heck- if I have to do rads every year, that will probably cover a spay anyway....

 

[JordanAng420]

Yeah, spaying can be done in extreme situations...anesthesia is VERY different when it comes to reptiles, as they do not have diaphragms (like cats, dogs and people) and require assisted ventilation throughout the procedure...one squeeze TOO hard and the results could be tragic, it takes an intense amount of concentration, so I can't tell you too much about the surgery itself...there are risks involved, however when done properly, is just as safe as a procedure for you or me. If you do decide on the spay, please make sure your veterinarian AS WELL AS the technicians are credentialed, and experianced with reptile surgical procedures.

I hope that it doesn't get to this point though. Ask your vet if there's anything medically you can do before you go the surgical route. Good luck, and i'm glad she's still eating and gaining weight for you.

 

[Alusdra]

I use the Tufts vet school as my primary vet- so I'm pretty confident they will be able to do a good job. It sure would be nice not to have to worry about this stuff anymore, though. And possibly I could house the spayed one with my ancient male, too. He's lived with females before with no problems, but I split them up for this sort of reason.