HELP. How can I tell if he mated with her?

cookie · #1 02-17-2011, 12:26 PM

I have two fat tails.

One male.
One female.

Last night after coming home from school I glanced at my divided tank to say hello to my baby girl because she was out. . . . . I looked back and realized it was my male in my females side of the tank. . Scared half to death i pulled him out and put him on his side as I pulled out my baby girl.

He knew he had a female next to him, I did not think he would climb the wall to get to her.

But the main thing is how can I tell if he mated with her?

he has a small what looks like a bite mark she never had. (shes not bleeding or any thing and their is no cut) Just looks like where he might have bit her in their mating ritual. Nothing else seems out of place.

So please any information will help me.

jnk144 · #2 02-17-2011, 01:16 PM

The bite mark is a sign that ritualistic behavior took place on the male's behalf. Aside from that, I don't think there's much else you can say at this point in time. I may be wrong here, and someone please correct me if I am, but check her now for ova. Bend her very gently, backwards in your hand, so the belly skin is taught, and if you see a white oval shape in her middle - those are ova. Now don't get confused between the ovum (oval white shape) in her middle body and the rather vague shape that the fat bodies take, near her back legs. Take a picture of her abdomen today and someone on GU can help you out.

However, what you should do is monitor your female for egg development. Search the site for good discussions on this topic - buy a leopard gecko breeding book, or check one out at your local library - the care sheets for gravid females of the two species are similar. Provide a lay box for her too at some point - even if she does not become gravid, the box is great for providing the needed humidity.

Sperm can be stored in the female's body for month's before ova fertilization. So, if mating did take place, and she was ovulating, and she does take, then it could be a while before you start to see egg in her abdomen.

And lastly, but importantly, I would get a separate tank for the male today. Nature always finds a way - and he sure did. And he will do it again if given the chance.

Best of luck to you (both)!

P.S. If in a few months you have babies, see if a local pet store will buy them.

cookie · #3 02-17-2011, 03:52 PM

Thanks so much for your help.

I have read up on breeding because I do want to breed some time in the future.

And bite mark was on her head, and that was the only sign.

So I got them separated for now, their both happy.

avoidtheboyd · #4 02-17-2011, 04:27 PM

You dont have to keep the eggs. Just when she lays them throw them away.

cookie · #5 02-17-2011, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avoidtheboyd

You dont have to keep the eggs. Just when she lays them throw them away.

I couldn't do that its cruel, Don't you think.

jnk144 · #6 02-18-2011, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avoidtheboyd

You dont have to keep the eggs. Just when she lays them throw them away.

Avoidtheboyd does have a point. I can see why one would consider it cruel, if you could otherwise easily provide for them and care for them. But, if you could not easily provide for them, then it would not be fair to the animals to allow them to live in an environment that doesn't meet their needs. It depends on what you are able to do.

I'm not an expert in the field, so I cannot speak with experience, but I would hazard an assumption and say that the developing embryos, when they are in their early stages probably do not have a fully developed nervous system, so they wouldn't 'feel' anything.

cookie · #7 02-18-2011, 03:34 PM

You made much more sense than the other post and. I can provide for the little eggs she might be caring now, I can buy or build one. and even then I know a lot about how to take care of the eggs. But he also didn't use a very good choice of wording in my opinion. Yea it was short and to the point but it didn't make me feel any better.

avoidtheboyd · #8 02-18-2011, 07:36 PM

People do that all the time... They arent really developed anyways so whats the point acting like i was being a monster? Her first lay of eggs has a pretty high chance of being infertile anyways.

**Elizabeth Freer** · #9 02-18-2011, 11:18 PM

Jenn ~

FYI: Here is the shortcut for listing your critters by sex:
Marv: 0.1.0
Michael: 1.0.0

males.females.unknown hatchlings

thehotchik1000 · #10 02-19-2011, 03:26 AM

Even though it's high probability that the eggs are infertile. If you do decide to dispose of the eggs or any future eggs. Make sure to freeze
them to actually interrupt any developing embryos. The methane gas in the trash can actually act as an incubator and hatch the eggs out. It's just a precautionary measure to make sure little babies dont hatch in a trash heap.