castelnaui egg questions

[John_Woodward]

hi all, im new here, and thought itd be best to start off with a question for those that have had experiences with this species. My female leayed one egg last night, and will probably lay the other one tonight. The egg layed with a weird off white coloration, not bright white at all. It was layed on moist peat moss. It is large and firm. Do you all think its fertile? this isnt the girls first clutch, let alone the first of this season, so i dont see why they would be infertile. Also, do you think its normal for a females tail to noticable get smaller during the pregnancy, because this girls tail has considerably shrunk. Thanks to all in advance.
John Woodward
JW REPTILES

 

[chahoua]

Well, I would first say that you should throw that egg in the incubator even though it doesn't seem fertile. You never know, it could hatch and it's worth taking the chance. By the color that you mention, it sounds like the shell isn't fully calcified.

In order to more accurately ascertain what the problem could be, it would help if you could answer a few questions.

Is she kept singly, in a pair, or in a group?
How frequently are you feeding her and how much?
How often do you supplement with calcium?

I'm not suggesting that you don't know what you're doing, but she could be dealing with other pressures in addition to producing eggs right now like competition from cage mates for food, or an overzealous male who is trying to copulate with her all the time and she's had enough. Some of these stresses, or a combination could be the source of the weight loss.

 

[MiCh@3L]

Hi John,

it isn`t normal that females tail getting smaller during the pregnancy. Especially after just one pregnancy. Oedura castelnaui got typical fat tails. To me it sounds your female isn`t in excellent condition a I would seperate it to gain weight. Maybe that`s the reason why she just laid one egg.


All the best,

Michael

 

[John_Woodward]

..

alright, im gonna seperate her up. My problem now is to get her to lay the other egg. Its been two days, and she hasnt layed it yet. It weird though,because after she layed the first egg, she started acting like she was done with laying. She started exploring the cage, and chasing after roaches and such, like her other cage mates do. this action continued last night, even though its obvious she has another egg in her. I feed them on lobster roaches every other day. with calcium supplementation 2 times a week. i have a 1.2, and have had them for about three weeks now. I just need her to lay this other egg so ill stop being a nervous wreck. anymore suggestions would be great.
John Woodward
JW REPTILES

 

[Brandon Parry]

I have found it to be common to get one egg clutches out of older females. So I wouldn't worry to much about the second egg.

 

[John_Woodward]

well she definately has another egg in her, its pretty obvious to see, but im hoping itll be coming out soon.

 

[Captive_Creations]

I am not too framiliar with this gecko species, but I know other gecko species that don't think they are able to lay eggs, will re-absorb them. With the shrinking of the tail, she may just re-absorb that one. However I do not know if this is prominent in this species

 

[John_Woodward]

well the other egg FINALLY was layed, and it originally was big and hard, but now if quite mushy.... this one was really white too. o well, ive still got one good one.