Should I be worried?

[SEwicked]

I have a female that I paired 5 weeks ago and witnessed them mate almost immediately. This is her first year to my knowledge being bred so I'm kinda expecting the first clutch to be infertle. She's been hugging her hot spot almost constantly and her temps is always between 90-93. She does have a lay box ready for with damp Eco earth. My concern is she's only gained about 5g since she was paired and everywhere I've looked says 14-21 days after a mate she should lay. Is this accurate and should I be concerned with her being egg bound. I have given her a nice warm soak about every 2-3 days for the past week and a half cause I read that can help. Has anyone had this happen with their females?


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[Alceste]

I had a first time breeder girl hold her first and only clutch for 10 weeks last year. The eggs were soft and bad when laid. For me I believe it was an example of having bred a female too young. From that experience on I refuse to breed a girl younger than 18 months. I too was worried about egg binding but I found a few other posts on this forum of people who had first time girls hold their eggs 1-2 months. I wouldn't be worried at 4 weeks, but if 6 weeks rolls around then start to take a closer look at her weight and stomach.

Also, do you see eggs? she should be a lot fatter and have visible eggs in her stomach if the male got the job done.

 

[SEwicked]

She has little fat spots right in front of her back legs that are noticeable when she's laying flat and when I flip her to check her belly she looks like she has small whiteish pink spots where her ovulations used to be, I'll take some pictures when i get home


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[SEwicked]

Also she was an adult when I got her last September at an expo and the breeder said she was around 18 months old but he couldn't give me an exact month so I'm not 100 positive on her age but I'd guess between 1-3 years old


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[Neon Aurora]

I don't think this is abnormal with the first clutch of the season, and especially with first time breeders. My tang last year took 7 weeks to lay her first clutch and had no problems. This year she was much quicker about it and took only 3. Anyways, I think I would recommend leaving her be and keeping a close eye on her. Make sure she's got plenty of substrate in her laybox and keep it moist and just wait it out. If she holds past week 8 or so than I might start feeling concerned. 10 weeks and a vet visit may in order, especially if you notice any alarming symptoms like lethargy.

BTW, the first clutch isn't always infertile. =) My tang last year had all fertile eggs and it was her first year, so don't dash your hopes before the eggs get here.

 

[SEwicked]

Okay so hold off on the soaks? As for lethargic she's she behaves exactly how she did when I first got her, really skittish and flighty when the cage opens even though I worked with her a lot to et he used to me. Now that I bred her I only pick up to check her belly and when I gave her a warm soak. The only change is she now barks at me when I first pick her up. Thanks for the advice I'll keep an extra close eye on her and keep you guys posted. In hoping for some awesome babies she's an ember bred to a hypo tang.


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[Neon Aurora]

It's up to you about the soaks. They probably don't hurt, but I don't think they're necessary either. It might be best to leave her be so she can spend time deciding where she is going to lay. Some first timers don't understand layboxes right away.

 

[SEwicked]

Oh okay I'll just leave the handling to a minimum for her daily belly checks


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[SEwicked]

Update* Officially on week six now and it's like out of nowhere she is very noticeably Gravid with two nice sized eggs. It's like she developed them over night because they didn't look like this before. Hoping she'll lay within the next week. Her behavior is still the same though, spending a lot of time bellied out on. Her hot spot. Should I keep her lay box on the warm side though(where it has been) or is this based on preference and doesn't really matter.


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[Neon Aurora]

I keep mine on the cool end, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. I worry that the eggs will get too hot on the warm end, and they always seem fine on the cool end to me.