how do you know she is done?

[ARBallMorphs]

hey everyone,

My first clutch is on it's way the female is at day 27 after pre-lay shed and now due day is closing in I am starting o get all kinds of doubts and questions etc etc.

What I am wondering mainly at the moment is when she is laying her eggs, how do I know she is finished without taking her off of her eggs?

I wanna know this because I don't not want to disturb her before she is done.


Thanks,
Andrew

[Stewart_Reptiles]

hey everyone,

My first clutch is on it's way the female is at day 27 after pre-lay shed and now due day is closing in I am starting o get all kinds of doubts and questions etc etc.

What I am wondering mainly at the moment is when she is laying her eggs, how do I know she is finished without taking her off of her eggs?

I wanna know this because I don't not want to disturb her before she is done.


Thanks,
Andrew

Usually eggs are laid at night and discovered in the AM when the animal is done so there is no concern there, in a few cases you will catch the female in action not often, if you do check back in few hours.

The eggs will be fine even if you check back the next day.

Now in the case of egg bound females she might pass one or two eggs and still have eggs in her the next day, that need to be closely monitored and addressed.

Again you will likely wake to a clutch of eggs and the female being done, and if an egg is left in there it will be very obvious when uncoiling the female from it's eggs.

The coil when they are done is very tight around the eggs often hiding them.

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[ARBallMorphs]

thanks,

you are a great help again Deborah

[rlditmars]

If you should happen to catch her laying eggs and you aren't sure if she's finished, just look at her body. Especially in females that are dropping their first or second clutch, the part where the eggs were but are no more, will appear completely deflated, much like a squeezed out tube of toothpaste. If there are still more to be deposited, that end of her body near the vent will still appear full and round. As they tend to deposit in the center of the coil you can usually see the tail section because she will drape it over herself into the middle. When she's all done that is when it is often tucked under and hard to see.

Just remember, 27 days is typical but not set in stone. I had a girl ovulate, do a pre-lay shed, go about 30 days and go into a second shed before she finally laid. Just watch for a day when she is twisted up like a knot because it will likely be the day before she deposits and she will be pushing the eggs down in position towards her vent. Best of luck.

[ARBallMorphs]

Thanks rlditmars,

I know day 27 is early and that it will probably take a few more days before she lays but since it is getting close now I was just wondering how to see if she is done without disturbing her

she is an proven breeder I got from a friend as he wanted to help me out and get a jump start into my first breeding season (he is a good friend I would say ), she has had 3 clutches (6 eggs, 7 eggs and another 7 egg clutch) and has not been bred the last 2 seasons before this one.