Is this normal after laying?

[Miss Lily]

Lily just laid her second clutch today. When she was done covering them, she struggled to get back up in her branches. Seems like she'd been using her legs in a digging motion all day and had trouble controlling them to do anything else. I lifted her out and she was still trying to dig on my hands and a towel that I put her on. Is this normal? She did it after her first clutch too. I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this behaviour too.

 

[Syn]

Reminds me of a dog when you pull them just above the water. They're still doing that kicking motion!

 

[summoner12]

Lily just laid her second clutch today. When she was done covering them, she struggled to get back up in her branches. Seems like she'd been using her legs in a digging motion all day and had trouble controlling them to do anything else. I lifted her out and she was still trying to dig on my hands and a towel that I put her on. Is this normal? She did it after her first clutch too. I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this behavior too.

Was she able to fully cover the eggs before you pulled her out? She may have just been in AutoPilot. Girls are VERY tired after they dig all day and lay the eggs. Mine (caddie, veiled) didn't have a huge clutch so I think she wasn't too beat after she was done... My melleri, Lenny was pretty exhausted. My GF reported (I was at work during the whole thing) that Lenny was very shaky and her grip was weak when she tried to shower her. My GF ran the misting system since Lenny couldn't stand the shower. It was on for over an hour and a half and she slowly drank the whole time. In the AM I ran the mister for another hour and again she drank the entire time. She also ate like a horse!

Just mist her well and feed her (if shes willing) with some calcium on the feeders. They need water after they lay because the eggs take a lot of fluids out of them.

 

[chamelisa]

Lily just laid her second clutch today. When she was done covering them, she struggled to get back up in her branches. Seems like she'd been using her legs in a digging motion all day and had trouble controlling them to do anything else. I lifted her out and she was still trying to dig on my hands and a towel that I put her on. Is this normal? She did it after her first clutch too. I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this behaviour too.

It's possible she was still arranging the soil near the nest. I just wait until they climb up on the the branches to remove them from the nesting cage. Either that or you can wait until night time when you know she will be done.

I had a senegalensis dig all through the night but she had a broken leg. She was a rescue and this fracture wasn't apparent until she had been digging for a while. I pulled her out and secured her leg but then placed her right back in. It took maybe 10 minutes. I kept a dim light on for her to see. If I remember correctly, it took her over a full day to lay the clutch of 35 eggs.

 

[Miss Lily]

Thanks, yeah she had finished covering them but went down again a couple of times. I'm only slightly worried as she was like it last time too - I didn't realise it's an 'auto-pilot' thing, although that does make sense. Her grip is still very strong (as is her digging instinct) and she did drink a bit but it was too late to feed her - I had to override the lighting timers as it was. She's sleeping now, and I'll get up early tomorrow and give her food and water. Luckily she'll drink from a rodent bottle when I drip it in front of her. I was interested to know if anyone else had encountered this!

 

[chamelisa]

I was interested to know if anyone else had encountered this!

I had in a smaller species, dwarf panther. She patted the dirt and pushed it around in several locations. I know of at least one time that she climbed up into the tree. But she went back down to pat the dirt down in a completely different area. Perhaps to fool me. Who knows?

I usually remove eggs from nests at night once the female is sleeping. Some females do it quickly and others like to drag it out for a long time.

 

[Miss Lily]

I had in a smaller species, dwarf panther. She patted the dirt and pushed it around in several locations. I know of at least one time that she climbed up into the tree. But she went back down to pat the dirt down in a completely different area. Perhaps to fool me. Who knows?

I usually remove eggs from nests at night once the female is sleeping. Some females do it quickly and others like to drag it out for a long time.

Last time Lily finished laying late at night, and next morning she went back down and kept shifting the dirt until 24 hours after she laid. It wasn't until I removed the laying box that she finally settled and went back to her normal routine. I think that maybe they can smell them and keep going back to ensure they are well hidden.