Help! Just one egg?

neep_neep · #1 05-20-2007, 05:43 AM

Hi all, I hope somebody can offer some advice.

My female G. luii is/was gravid, and yesterday I awoke to find a single egg buried in the laying box.
She had been sat in it for the whole of the previous day (though not sure whether she was in the actual process of laying, or just hiding?).

Anyway, in the morning I could only find one egg in the box. So I thought perhaps she might lay her 2nd one during the night last night - she came out last night and still looked pretty fat (I had checked her previously and could definitely see two large white patches through her skin, so pretty certain she had two in there).

So I guess what i'm asking, is it usual to lay one and then another later? All the literature i've read suggests they are laid together.
Or should I be worried and get her to the vet?

Thanks.

neep_neep · #2 05-21-2007, 07:34 PM

Just to update...

Having wound myself up into a panic that she might be eggbound, I was all prepared to take her to the vet.

However, I thought i'd better actually check her underbelly to make sure there is still an egg in there. I had not handled her up until now, just in case she was about to lay and I stressed her out through handling.

Anyway, I picked her up and her underside looks like this:

All pink, I can't see any white patches where the egg would be. Does this mean that there are no eggs in her? I know that the eggs are pretty easy to see through the skin when they're in there, so I can't see how it could still be there.

This is a photo of her about 5 or 6 weeks ago, when I first noticed the white developing:

Can Gonis reabsorb eggs? I've found no information regarding this with cave geckos specifically, though have heard that Eublepharis can.

The female seems pretty active, and I saw the male and female mating this evening.

Any input or experiences would be gratefully received.

Brian · #3 05-21-2007, 11:11 PM

Yes they can reabsorb. Yes rarely they can lay one. Almost always have eggs laid immeadately after one and other, but I don't see why there can't be a little delay rarely like some of it's relatives.

neep_neep · #4 05-22-2007, 05:25 PM

Thanks for responding - That's some useful information that i've not been able to find elsewhere, I appreciate your input

brille · #5 05-26-2007, 12:36 PM

Last year was my female G. hainanensis's first year of breeding and she laid me one egg in August and one in September. Ive seen the same thing with young/old leopard geckos too.

neep_neep · #6 07-15-2007, 01:45 PM

Just to update...

She lay her second clutch the other day, and again, she only laid one. So it looks as though i'm seeing the same as you brille!

Interestingly, the first egg which she laid in May is fertile (and hopefully ready to hatch in a week or two!), but this second egg she laid the other day almost certainly looks infertile - it has a dent in it, and looks all yellow and empty when candled. I would have expected the fertility to be the other way around!

Just thought I would add my experience in case anybody is interested

Brian · #7 07-15-2007, 02:57 PM

Is it in good health? The only time I've gotten one egg in good health is at the very end of the "laying" season, or when one egg is fertile then the other is infertile a few days later. (Also usually at the end of the cycle).

There's also the possibility that your female only has one working overy . . .

neep_neep · #8 07-15-2007, 04:43 PM

As far as I know this is her first breeding year and she definitely seems to be in good health.

I did also consider the possibility of having only one functional ovary, as she definitely isn't retaining a 2nd egg.

I will definitely be interested to see what happens next year though, to see whether it is a 'first year' thing, as in brille's case, or whether it's a physiological reason.

Brian · #9 07-15-2007, 08:43 PM

I didn't see the picture load, and forgot it was there . Yeah, she looks good.

Is it possible she wasn't cycled and she just layed the egg she had from the previous season?

monremonda · #10 07-16-2007, 02:00 PM

This is my first year breeding mine, and I had a similar thing happen. She laid one clutch of two, then sometime later a clutch of one. I thought it was a bit early to be laying again, and when a second egg, which was visible in her abdomen, did not come out I started to worry. But it has been a while and she now appears to be gravid again with two obvious eggs, and by all appearances is healthy. So it seems that this sort of thing just happens from time to time.