Is this what you describe as "tail suck"?

[Ball Clan]

OK I've bred Kay several times before, but this is the first year that I've seen anyone describe "tail suck" and thus I've never really looked for it before. But I'm noticing today that the swelling from ovulation has increased, and it really does look like her entire posterior has been deflated somewhat. I don't know if you can see from this shot but here she is today:


Also, her color is super bright, brighter than I've ever seen it. Does this have to do with being gravid as well?

Here is a shot of her from October. This is actually somewhat darker than her usual self, but you'll get the idea:

[Zombie]

The first pic doesn't really look like an ovulation. When they ovulate they lay spread out. She looks to still be building and may have a glow going on. Hard to tell from pics. They will glow before the ovulate so watch for a time where she's laid out and looks like she swallowed a fosters beer can!

[Ball Clan]

She is really bloated there. The pic doesn't really do it justice. But I'm not really sure I want to drag her out for a picture because she's looking kind of uncomfortable.

[Ball Clan]

Yeah she's really uncharacteristically cranky right now. I'm not gonna bother her for any more pictures today. She looks well on her way though, if the last 3 times I've bred her can be used as any indication.

[Brandon Osborne]

I would disagree with Zombie and say yes, it looks like a tail suck to me. She is obviously glowing as well in comparison to the second pic.....typical color of females between 20-40 days prior to ovulation. Not all females lay stretched out during ovulation. The tail is usually curled toward the swelling, but I can easily see the mid-body swelling and squeezing of the tail in the first pic. I'll see if I can't dig up a few ovulation pics from this season. So far we have had 20+ female ovulate within about a month of each other......8 clutches in the last 10 or so days.