[getmealemon]

Hey, so my female Williamsi i seperated from my male about three months ago because she was too young has laid what i believe is her first egg. Does that indicate she is now old enough?

Is she now ready or is it wise to give her some more time before introducing my male back to her?

[panthergecko]

if you thought it was to young i would wait a few months

[LLDG]

How old is she?

[thehotchik1000]

Females can become gravid, and lay the eggs at a young age. But it doesn't mean it's good for them. It will take too much of a toll on her ca reserves and lead to serious issues. Even death. I would also wait for at least a few more months.

[getmealemon]

I'm not entirely sure what age she is, anywhere between 6 months to 1 and half years. That was why i was wondering if the fact she has now laid an egg means she is old enough or ready to be housed with my male.

I don't mind waiting longer anyway, i'm in no particular rush!. My male Williamsi Scooter might be a bit disappointed though!

[hexentanz]

What is her full length?

Is she near the male, in other words can she see him?

[getmealemon]

Hi Hexentanz, shes not really in a position where i can measure her at the moment, will have a try later on!

Since the male and female were seperated back in late January the male has been kept in a upstairs bedroom and the female in the downstairs living room so definitely can't see him.

One thing that was worrying me was the possibly they did mate when they were briefly together and the female stored the sperm? I know some kind of lizards do that (ie leopard geckos). Can Lygos?

Slightly off topic...Why do you use ground up cuttlefish to leave in the viv as opposed to the calcium dust? Just wondering if it's because it's more natural, better calcium or some other reason?!

[getmealemon]

Right, after she finished trying to lick the tape measure i measured her at 3 inches.

[Chum]

First off sperm retention in williamsi sure is possible, I have had a female laying three clutches without beeing with a male.

That beeing said, the eggs she laid does not look very good so I highly doubt that it is fertile.

One thought I had when I read you thread is that it seems that the female is able to lay eggs without get hind leg paralysis.
From what I have heard of that is the main issue with breeding on young females - I guess their body size is not yet big enough to allow for an eggs to pass out of her without severing some nerves to their hind legs.

You say that she is somewhere between 6 to 18 months. How long have you had her? and what size did she have when you got her?

[hexentanz]

At 3 inches she is almost fully grown. In all honesty since you do not know her true age you should wait 3-4 more months to be on the safe side. It is what I would do.

Females can store sperm for a period of time for use later on. Females also tend to lay eggs as they are starting to mature, when they can see a male and so on.

I use the ground up cuttlefish bone instead of the actual calcium supplement I use for dusting because it is pure and the kind I dust with has added D3.

@chum I would not call that sperm retention unless you are absolutely positive she was with a male at one point.