Nel & Sativa's Gravid Progress

[Courtney]

Nel showed gravid coloration within minutes of breeding. I did not weigh her at that time, I didnt have a scale and couldnt find one large enough to weigh her...Darn drug dealers have bought out all the good ones lol... I ended up leting her and ecko go at it, after removing Ecko from the tree he was all upset that he didnt do the deed and drove me crazy for hours...this time Nel readly accepted

First Signs of Gravid coloration showed on same day
1-16-10
1-29-10..... 136.3 g
2-03-10..... 134.1 g
2-06-10..... 139.3 g
I can see egg shaped areas and her tummy feels more dense. shes alot more pissy than her usual self. I have read that she should lay between now and no more than 2-3 weeks.
Eateing 3 adult lobster roaches a day dusted w calcium w and wo d3 and herpavite...she gets a shower every other day she was exposed to a water bowl in the pet store and i think forgot how to drink without alot of stimulation...while she was in the largets cage i have i had a dripper going all day every day saw her go to it once for one drop. i can mist all day long and she will open/shut her mouth thats about it. her urates are pretty good though .....maybe she just likes the showers!!!
3 days ago I moved her back to the free range. She was spending most of her time in the cage under baasking light and no where near the 24 in uvb. Ill post pics of her free range tomorrow. Im useing a red night time heat light during the day as she loves the heat. and i could only clamp the light to my closet door

 

[kinyonga]

Its usually about 30 days after the mating that they lay the eggs....so she should be drinking well by now, roaming/looking for a site to dig in and maybe cutting down on what she eats.

If she's free-ranging how does she have access to a place to dig so she can show you she's ready to lay eggs. Does she have a place available to her to dig and lay them...or are you just going to hope you know so you can move her to a place then? If you miss the sometimes subtle signs she could become eggbound....so IMHO its best that she have a place available to her.

BTW...once she starts to dig, don't let her see you watching her or she'll abandon the hole thinking its an unsafe place to lay the eggs.

This is the way it should go...she will roam around looking for a spot to lay the eggs and when she finds it she may dig several test holes. She should finally decide on one and dig it until she's satisfied with it. She should turn around bum down in the hole and lay her eggs, bury them and tamp the substrate down and return to her branches. If you bother her during this time, you may throw her off. There are only so many days that she will have the "urge" to lay the eggs, so if you bother her too much during this time (handling her, letting her see you watching her, etc.) she could become eggbound.

Good luck with her!

 

[Courtney]

not pictured is her laying bin which is a recycling bin mixed with 1/2 play sand/organic soil. I just put itthere for her. when she was in a cage i put a laying bucket in and she would want to eat the dirt. lucky for me i dont work right now so i am always here to see the signs. now that her tummy is firm and i can see egg bumps but i cant feel them i put the big bin under the trees. she hasnt moved from the top yet. tomorrow i am going to put up her privacy screen and set up the camera so that when she lays i have the whole thing on film. pictures i took this morning
Her free range

the last few i was trying to get pics of her egg bumps that are very visable today. she only shows gravid colors when she can see the male.

 

[Courtney]

so after going off food for 2 days she decided she was hungry again....sativa is still eateing a little more active than usual.....nel on th eother hand her weight goes up and down by 3 grams. poo i guess.... its been 5.5 weeks....should i worry yet? is there anything i can do to stimulate her?

 

[Leilaskeeper]

Hey Courtney, what is the other plant you're using? The one on the left in the pictures.

 

[Courtney]

its just a fake house plant

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Just make sure she stays very well hydrated. It takes a lot out of them to dig all the test holes before they lay. I would put her in a warm shower every few days til she lays. Of course don't bother her if shes roaming in her bin.

 

[Courtney]

Sativa right on time

Sativa has been restless for 2 days.. night before last i dug a little hole to give her a hint...she filled it in.. I re compacted and moistened the bucket yesterday.. today i woke up to her diging and she is now laying her eggs i cant wait so excited!!!! Im also very nervous as she was not supose to get knocked up. She isnt a year old yet. She is doing a wonderful job so far....im going to guess 25 eggs 30 tops. i didnt feed her too much or to little i didnt want her to have a big clutch or a poorly calified clutch either

 

[ChameleonAlley]

Congrats! It's got to be so exciting. Be sure to post pics of the eggs and let us know how many for sure.

 

[kinyonga]

I see Sativa laid her eggs...how's Nel doing?

 

[Courtney]

HAppy active eateing pooping drinking just being herself