Agnes will be laying again

[Brad Ramsey]

I showed Kitty to Agnes today and she confirmed without a doubt that more eggs will be coming soon.
She last laid on July 4th. (her first fertile clutch)
In the picture you will see the colors she displayed for Kitty today.
Pretty faded by the time I got the camera, but unmistakable.

-Brad

 

[Rocky]

Agnes is HOTTTTT

but on a serious note. How does this play into your hibernation study? Just wondering how the egg development is affected by shorter days and cooler temps etc.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I do think that it has slowed everything down.
For example, she showed receptive coloration for an exceptionally long time and she stopped eating (typical behavior 2 to 3 days before laying) over a week ago.
Everything is going as it should but is taking longer.
I have raised her temps and installed the big laying bin so that she can have the right conditions and be comfortable for the current situation.
This is a perfect example of why (regardless of any experiment) we must keep a close watch on these animals and be able to asses what's going on and adjust husbandry quickly to accommodate them.

-Brad

p.s. yea ... she is totally hot!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

FINALLY!

November 22nd (Saturday) Agnes finally laid this clutch.
4 months and 18 days after she laid the fertile Kitty clutch.
None of these eggs are good and were very tiny (like over-grown tic tacs)
47 tiny eggs.
She is recovering well.
The interesting thing is that I raised the room temperature on Friday and she went to work immediately.
It has also made a marked difference in Kitty's behavior, and in the last couple of days he has eaten more than I have seen him eat in a very long time.
I think I am going to abandon the hibernation experiment.

-Brad

 

[ColorCham427]

Interesting, glad she is recovering well.

 

[kinyonga]

How did I miss this post until today??
Congrats on another successful laying, Agnes!
How are all the other eggs doing? Any hatched (did I miss that too?)? How many still sitting there fertile and incubating?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

There are 37 fertile eggs that were laid on July 4th.
The first clutch she laid (at the end of February) proved finally to be infertile.
The one she just laid Saturday was the most eggs for her, but they were also the smallest she has laid.

I should clarify that when I finally determined she was gravid again, I added an additional basking light and upped the wattage on both. This increased the temperature in her enclosure considerably, but it wasn't until I warmed up the entire room that she dug the nest and laid the eggs.
I should add that the change in her behavior was almost immediate. She was digging within an hour of me raising the room temp.

-Brad