About 7 to 8 Month Female Veiled

[GooglezNvincent]

Googlez is about 5 to 7 inches long and has a decent sized belly. For the past week or so she has not been eating much and i thought it was because she is going to lay her first batch of unfertile eggs. She was also clawing at her cage and i have seen her on the ground. I recently saw her digging in the soil near the potted ficus i have in her cage. Can any one tell me if she is just practicing or really is going to lay eggs becaue im getting worried about her not eating for about a week.

 

[kinyonga]

Sounds like she is trying to dig a hole to lay eggs in. You should have a suitable place for her to dig in the cage. Failure to do so can lead to eggbinding and eventual death.

You can use an opaque container that when empty she will fit into with a couple of inches on all sides of her including above and below. This can be filled with moist washed playsand. This gives her a place to start to dig to show you she is ready. Some will actually lay the eggs in this rather small container...but I usually move them to a larger (65 liter) rubbermaid container that I have filled with at least a bag of sand. I place a branch in it too for her to climb on. I cut a large hole in the lid and screen it over. I place the female in the container when she is intent on digging and put the screened lid on. I place a light over the screen being careful not to use one that will cause the container to overheat.

Its important when they are digging not to let them see you watching them. It will make them abandon the hole.