Gravid Leopard Gecko?

Question

Belly   QUESTION: Hello,

I'm pretty new to having leopard geckos, so am unsure about whether my gecko is pregnant or not. She has gone off her food and will only eat wax worms now, she has started to get a little stressed/panicked about being handled which isn't like her at all. Her belly has got quite big. These signs make me think she might be, however I'm not sure from looking at her belly. Any help please?

I've attached a picture of her belly, and here is a side picture where you can see the "bump" http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/7278/img0014u.jpg

ANSWER: Hello Alannah,

She does appear to be gravid.  Is she housed with a male?
What type of substrate are you using, sand, tiles, paper towels?  
Has this been a gradual thing, her getting bigger in the belly & not eating as much, etc?
If you have loose substrate, she could be impacted, but if your substrate is not loose, then she is most likely gravid.
It looks like an egg, to me though.
How old is she?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again Tracie,

Yes she is housed with a male and it 7years old, the substrate is a terrarium Carpet. The not eating has been gradual, usually she goes mad for her food, but on Wednesday she wouldnt eat anything I gave her, only wax worms, then on Friday it was the same again but she didn't really want a worm either. Her belly getting bigger seems to be gradual too.

A single egg then? If so how long do you think it should be before she lays the egg?

Thanks so much for the help Tracie.

ANSWER: Hello Alannah,

Well, normally the gestation period is 5-6 weeks, so, she should be laying any day now.  Since you mentioned she has not eaten that is one of the signals that she is very close to laying.  The egg is taking up most of the coelomic cavity so there is no room for food.
Can you give some oral fluids & mix some calcium up with it too?
Other than that, is she acting normally & not anxious yet?

Tracie


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Eye   QUESTION: Hi Tracie,

I've got a box set up in the terrarium with vermiculite in it for her to bury the egg when she is ready. She has eaten some food, it's just she's not as interested in it as usual and will only have wax worms. She has had more of her calcium today too.

She's acting perfectly normal, sleeping in her usual spots.

Can I ask you about something else as well please Tracie. As well as being pregnant she also has a problem with her eye, it's been there a while but we couldn't get her to the vet because we had so much snow, and then it seemed to get better. However now it seems worse, I'll add a picture of it for you, I think it's an eye infection but I don't want to take her to the vet until she's had the egg.

On the picture the left side is her good eye and the right side is the one with the problem.

Thanks again Tracie!

Answer
Hello Alannah,

Good you set up a little lay area for her, I hope that she lays her egg pretty soon.  So, she did eat some baby food then, that is good.  
Did she have any retained shed on her eye area that could have caused the irritation on the eye?  Have you ever used any eye ointment or eye drops in it?
You could get some sterile saline solution to put into her eye to help with the irritation a little bit.  

I hope she is doing well.

Tracie