The snake in that first link looks pretty thin to me... maybe it's just the picture or is it a common thing for them to be rather thin looking? I ask because in the second link she said that most of the deserts are picky eaters. If this is true then maybe diet could be another possibility to look into if they need supplements for egg production. Also, I noticed that for the second link, the desert female was not the only one she had bad luck with that year due to temperature adjustment. Knowing what temps people have tried and failed at is good information too in my opinion.