HELP! Surprised With an Egg

[theresaintucson]

The photo is of my ambanja, Peach. It was taken a few months ago.
This morning I found an egg at the bottom of her cage. She has never been mated. I quickly put together an egg laying bin (thanks to Dez' video!) and put it back in her cage. I am a total newbie to this egg laying thing. How many eggs can be in a first clutch? Does the number vary if the panther is a virgin or no? Do I leave her alone now for a few days, including feeding her?
Help! I don't know how professional breeders do this and my hat is off to you all!

 

[camimom]

first step-
BREATHE!. lol.
second step- good job on the egg bin. though you should have had it in with her the whole time.

females can aly eggs with our without being mated. and there is no set number they can lay. its based on how much you feed and her basking temps.

so, it can be anywhere from 20 eggs to 100, though the norm is around 30-60.

now, you want to leave her alone. mist and feed her without her seeing you!

if she sees you while she is digging, she might stop, and if she stops, she can become egg bound.

the fact that she dropped an egg, means she shoudl start digging soon.

you want to watch her, without her seeing you!

 

[theresaintucson]

I knew it I knew it I knew it--I meant to put together that bin weeks ago! Thank goodness I'm a gardener, so I had plenty of pots and organic potting soil at hand though!
She's only eating 4 crickets and/or 4 superworms now. Basking temp is 80 degrees.
Do I cover her cage so that it's totally dark now?
Thanks for your help!

 

[camimom]

I knew it I knew it I knew it--I meant to put together that bin weeks ago! Thank goodness I'm a gardener, so I had plenty of pots and organic potting soil at hand though!
She's only eating 4 crickets and/or 4 superworms now. Basking temp is 80 degrees.
Do I cover her cage so that it's totally dark now?
Thanks for your help!

if you cover teh cage, shell just go to sleep. just hang stuff around the sides or make sure shes isolated, so she can lay in peace.

and is that food every day? you may want to cut her back to 3-4 bugs every other day.

basking is good though.

 

[theresaintucson]

I feed her every other day--sorry should have mentioned that. I am a bit flustered right now. Off to put a towel around the cage and give her some peace.
I only wish covering myself with a towel will have the same effect on me.

 

[camimom]

I feed her every other day--sorry should have mentioned that. I am a bit flustered right now. Off to put a towel around the cage and give her some peace.
I only wish covering myself with a towel will have the same effect on me.

Ah ok thats ok then. just breathe, relax, and ignore her, and dont let her catch you spying, cuz i know you will. hehe.

and do you want a towel to help you relaxx.. or cuz you are prego?

 

[pssh]

If she only dropped one egg it could be an issue. Watch her for abnormal behavior as she could be egg bound already. If she starts to act abnormal AT ALL take her to the vets.

 

[camimom]

If she only dropped one egg it could be an issue. Watch her for abnormal behavior as she could be egg bound already. If she starts to act abnormal AT ALL take her to the vets.

aggh beat me to it. i realized i forgot to add that.

 

[laurie]

The problem as I see it is, he will have no idea what is abnormal behavior right now. Did you start a hole for her to lay in? sometimes that gets them going. Normal behavior at this point may be, pacing her cage, may or may not eat, may or may not bask. If she doesn't lay within 3 days I would call a vet. Maybe make an appt for Friday afternoon, just incase you need it. Better to cancel than not get in or have to go to a emergency vet. jmo

Do you know what to do after she lays?

 

[theresaintucson]

ah ok thats ok then. Just breathe, relax, and ignore her, and dont let her catch you spying, cuz i know you will. Hehe.

And do you want a towel to help you relaxx.. Or cuz you are prego?

i want to relax!!!

 

[theresaintucson]

The problem as I see it is, he will have no idea what is abnormal behavior right now. Did you start a hole for her to lay in? sometimes that gets them going. Normal behavior at this point may be, pacing her cage, may or may not eat, may or may not bask. If she doesn't lay within 3 days I would call a vet. Maybe make an appt for Friday afternoon, just incase you need it. Better to cancel than not get in or have to go to a emergency vet. jmo

Do you know what to do after she lays?

"he will have no idea what is abnormal behavior right now." If by "he" you mean "Me", I'm a woman.

I did start a hole for her. I covered her cage with a black trash bag, with a small place to peek in to see how Peach is doing. She's still eating and basking and mostly sleeping.

I'll make an appointment with my rept vet for Friday if she doesn't do anything.

After she lays, don't I just remove the pot and remove the infertile eggs? Then I'm supposed to boost her calcium intake, right? For now, I'm just leaving her alone.
Thanks again for everyone's help!