Is my female about to lay eggs?

[mainbutter]

~90 days after her last lay, I began bringing my big female(39 grams) and the other geckos out of winter cooling.

I've put the girl in with one of the males a few times, never saw anything happen with them though. She had been laying eggs and with a male before I got her.

I brought them up to temps early this january, and my big girl has been hanging around the nest box this past week. Today, I walk in late in the evening(though with their light still on) and is half in the substrate and half out. A few hours later I peek in and she isn't near the nest box anymore, I check for eggs and nada.

The girl looks pudgy, but I'm not 100% sure she is carrying eggs.

Wish me luck on getting a first clutch!

[llovelace]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya

[mlededee]

Just FYI, 90 days isn't really enough of a rest between seasons. They need more like 5-6 months, sometimes more depending on how many clutches they laid, how much they weigh, etc.

Sometimes females will dig in the lay box for a night or two before they lay.

[mainbutter]

hmmm thanks mlededee, I've read that 3 months was standard practice.. and that's what I was told by girl I got her from, but I'll look into longer off-times.

Don't most people get 8 or so clutches per season?

[mlededee]

How many clutches you get is extremely variable depending on many factors. Things like the age and weight of the female, how long she is left with a male, what kind of temperature changes you have during the course of the year, diet, etc. Generally speaking a female will lay about 3-5 clutches after being separated from the male but sometimes they lay more. I have also had females stop laying for several months over the winter and then start laying fertile eggs again in the spring. I like to give my girls rest periods that are approximately equal to the time that they were laying eggs, so if they laid eggs for 9 months, I give them 9 months off. That may not be the book standard, but it has worked well for me.