Keep your fingers crossed!!

[greenmonkey51]

I think that they can hold sperm for 3 months so I would guess 3 clutches.

[mlededee]

it can be anywhere from 3 to 5 clutches (or sometimes more) after you separate her from the male--it all depends on the female. i have one female that has been laying eggs for a solid year now, even though i separated her from her mate well over 6 months ago--she just won't stop! generally i leave pairs together for 3-4 months after the first clutch is layed and then separate the females so they can finish laying and have a break before i pair them up again.

some people leave males and females together year round, and provide a significant temperature drop during the winter months to get the females to stop laying. if you choose this method you have to make extra sure that your females are getting enough nutrients, especially calcium, so that they don't crash, and also watch that the males don't get to thin as they tend to cut back on food intake when breeding.

[tigerlily]

That's what I was looking for! Thanks so much.

And I was just thinking about that calcium issue. I have some calcium supplement in addition to the CGD. Should I add that into the CGD, or can you just put the powder in a small dish like other lizards? I do dust crickets with it, although I don't offer crickets too often (just a treat).

[mlededee]

just put some of the calcium in a dish for the female to eat from as she feels necessary. unless you notice that her eggs are starting to look rough and unevenly textured don't add it to her cgd or you may overdose her with calcium which can actually be more dangerous that not getting enough calcium. if her eggs do start to look rough instead of smooth check her calcium sacks. if they look depleted add a very small amount of calcium to her cgd every few feedings until they look normal again and her eggs are nice and smooth.

[mlededee]

fyi: this is what slightly undercalcified eggs look like:



mom has had a little extra calcium added to her diet and has been asked nicely to please think about taking a break from the egg laying for a while.

[tigerlily]

I've not tried to look at the calcium sacks. How do you do that? They're so wiggly.

Fortunately, the eggs all look very smooth and normal. I think I'll put a bit of calcium in, just in case. Or can she OD herself?

[mlededee]

it's a little tricky to get them to open their mouth the first time, but you just have to hold them firmly in one hand and with the other open their mouth so that you can see inside. many times if you tap on their nose they will open their mouth--you may have to stick a finger in there to keep it open or you can use a small plastic spatula similar to what a lot of people use with their snakes. i got a little gecko sized spatula to try out because some of my geckos get rather fierce with my fingers when i'm messing around in their mouths. honestly though, it's not something you need to do very often and since she just started laying as long as she is the proper weight and eats well she should be fine for now.

cresteds can overdose on calcium if you mix it in the cgd because they can't control how much they are getting. just put some in a little dish and she can eat it when she feels that she needs it. i only mix it in with the cgd for females if i notice that their calcium sacks are getting depleted toward the end of the season or if their eggs look undercalcified, and i only add it until their sacks and eggs look normal again.

[tigerlily]

Awesome!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!

[greenmonkey51]

Im justing updating this thread a bit. One of the first eggs had a dent in the side off it. There also looked to be maybe some mold around the dented one but it was really small. The other is plumping out so it looks good. Hopefully I can save the dented one.