leo...

Question
QUESTION: HI...I HAD EMIALED YOU BEFORE AND NOW I THINK THAT MY FEMALE LEOPARD GECKO IS PREGNANT...I NEVER SAW THEM BREED BUT I LOOK AT HER BELLY AND THERE IS 2 WHITE LUMPS IN THERE AND SHE WONT EAT AND IS VERY LAZY...I HAVE CRICKETS IN THERE AND SHE WONT EAT THEM..BUT I WAS WONDERING IF SHE IS PREGNANT AND WHAT DO I NEED TO DO IF SHE IS AND ABOUT HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE.. AND WHY SHES NOT EATING??? PLEASE MESSAGE ME BACK...THANKS!!!!

ANSWER: Hi Tyler

If you are seeing eggs and her belly is very rounded at the back toward her legs then she is "gravid" and she should be getting ready to lay her eggs soon

Do you have a moist hide/lay box set up for her to lay the eggs in?

Do you have the incubator set and running so that the temp is steady for the eggs?

It's hard to tell exact;lay when she will lay those eggs but she will start hanging out in the lay box more and more and will not eat much-if anything until she lays

She will dig until she is happy with the hole and then she will lay the eggs and cover them back up

When you remove the eggs be careful and try to remove them in the same position that she laid them in

In other words-don't turn them upside down
Although the embryo doesn't "set" for a few hours it is better to be safe than sorry

Put the eggs in some moistened Vermiculite or Perlite (you want the incubation medium to be moist but not to drip water if you squeeze it in your hand)in a covered plastic container and then into the incubator

You don't need holes in the container-just open the lid and wipe off  any excess humidity off the lid once per week-when you check on the eggs

Incubation times vary by them temp used and the temperature of the incubator also determines the sex of the babies

Eggs incubated at lower temps take longer to hatch and eggs incubated at higher temps are quicker to hatch
Incubation can range from 45 to 90 days-give or take

The main thing is that you do not want the temperatures to wildly fluctuate as this can cause deformities and even fetal death


For a chance at both males and females-83 to 85 degrees is OK
Higher temps will give you more males
Lower temps will give you more females but don't go below 82 as it is not warm enough for the embryos to develop

Make sure that she has plenty of fresh water and you can continue to offer her food-just take the uneaten crix out if she doesn't eat them that night
You can place a dish of calcium dusted meal worms or super worms in her tank and leave it there for her 24/7 if she is till eating


I wish you the best and if anything that I wrote here is unclear or you have any more questions-please write back

Sandy aka LadyGecko


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

QUESTION: OKAY THANK YOU BUT SHE IS STILL PRETTY SKINNY I AM NOTICING THAT SHE IS JUST A LITTLE BULGY...SO COULD SHE BE JUST AT THE BEGGINNG AND WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SEE THE EGGS??? THANKS!!

Answer
Yes-it could be that she is still forming the eggs

For the best way to see the eggs and to not stress her out-place her in a glass baking dish(watch that she doesn't jump out) and look underneath it


It works
:)


If she is not eating right now-perhaps she is going into a shed and her appetite will pick up again after she sheds

Feed her all that she will eat-the worms in the dish are a great way to make sure that she can eat when ever she wants to without crix bothering her in the tank when she doesn't want them

You can also offer her a few crickets at a time

Keep up with the supplements
Rep-Cal and Herptivite mixed together once per week and plain calcium on all of the other feedings

Make sure that your bugs are gut loaded before you give them to her

Hope this helps

Good Luck

Sandy aka LadyGecko