Quote Originally Posted by loonunit View Post
Most females don't do a reliable pre-ovy shed. My Lois does do one, and then she skips her pre-lay shed... but usually the pre-lay shed is what you set your calendar by. The pre-ovy and pre-lay sheds don't really affect what you feel for palpating very much. There are increasingly LARGE things in there right up to ovulation.... and then there's nothing, and even the visible bulge in her middle kind of disappears. You start to wonder if your female somehow faked it. But that disappearance was ovulation.

(And then you come home and find Lois is sitting on eggs a full week before you expected them, and you have to run around looking for vermiculite and tubs.)
The fact that not all females are reliable with their sheds, and I'm actually worried that I'm going to miss the ovulation as well, has me sort of panicking (which is normal for me). lol. So my plan is to set up the incubator and tubs as soon as I even suspect she may lay eggs. I'd rather have everything set up too early than after I actually find eggs. But I'm sure that once this season is done and I try again next year, it'll be easier and I'll have a better idea what to look for.