Gravid Melleri

[chamlover]

Hi Guys,

I know i haven't posted here in awhile, but...I just got in, what i believe to be 2 new female w/c melleri..1 is 240 gr and the other is 153..The concern i have is that the littler of the two appears to be gravid..Her abdomen is very large..I cannot feel any eggs, but when i try she pushes her stomach out to prevent me from doing it..My vet only works Fri- Sat right now and i'll be gone again next weekend...I thought she might be too small for eggs..Any suggestions?

 

[laurie]

Post several pictures taken from different angles. There are people on here who can most likely tell you if she is gravid. How do you know they are both females?

 

[chamlover]

I will as soon as i can find my camera.. Educated guess from both myself and another cham keeper..Couldn't locate the hemipenes..

 

[chams1]

In my experience, those sizes (if they are female) are way too small to be carrying eggs. Both of my females that have laid for me were no less than 500 grams while carrying and generally more. If you don't feel the eggs, it could be that it has something wrong in the abdomen. Do you know if the importer pumped them full of drugs? That can many times in melleri cause serious abdominal issues.

Agreed - please post pics.

 

[chamlover]

Were your females w/c when they became gravid? And not to my knowledge..He is not known for that at all..I still haven't found my camera since returning from the Pa show..She has not eaten though either..She's been showered both yesterday and today..she isn't showing any stress coloration even when handling..I'm very familiar with w/c melleri and have been dealing with them for years..However this is a new one on me..I suppose she could just be fat, but i highly doubt it..If i don't find my camera, can i post pics on here using my droid? And btw, thank you..If i need to, i will get her to the vet maybe on Sunday..

 

[chams1]

I've had many females, but only 2 have laid for me. Both of them were originally WC and one of them was bred by me after I had already had her for a couple of years. The other (mom to my recent babies just born) bred shortly after arrival.

I would have the vet do an ultrasound on him/her. I have done that in the past on melleri - it's a safer way of finding out exactly what's going on in there.

 

[Carlton]

Hi Guys,

I know i haven't posted here in awhile, but...I just got in, what i believe to be 2 new female w/c melleri..1 is 240 gr and the other is 153..The concern i have is that the littler of the two appears to be gravid..Her abdomen is very large..I cannot feel any eggs, but when i try she pushes her stomach out to prevent me from doing it..My vet only works Fri- Sat right now and i'll be gone again next weekend...I thought she might be too small for eggs..Any suggestions?

What about an x-ray to get more information about her insides? Heavy parasite load? Retained fluids or fecal? Abscess or cysts? Or, mature eggs.

 

[chams1]

What about an x-ray to get more information about her insides? Heavy parasite load? Retained fluids or fecal? Abscess or cysts? Or, mature eggs.

I have also used an x-ray in the past but if it IS carrying eggs, the safest way to protect them is an ultrasound (but yes, you could do an x-ray, too. Also, yes, it could be heavy parasites or yes, it could be carrying excess water. I have had that happen from time to time.

Anything is possible with a WC, but I would just wait to get into the vet to see what's going on before making any assumptions, good or bad.

 

[chamlover]

Thank you for all the help..She will be seeing the vet but not until Sunday..If it's fluids is there anything i can do to help her? Her arms and legs are fine..No signs of excess water there..She's been eating and moving around fine..She shows no sign of distress except for her huge belly that is..Here are a couple of pics..I hope they help..And btw, i have not tried to palpate her abdomen lately either..I just don't like to stress them out anymore than necessary.