Day 35, still no eggs!

[mizmole]

I'm not quite sure what to do with my female veiled as this is her first egg laying experience (mine too!). I've read all kinds of tips to prepare her egg laying chamber and put her in a 20 gallon plastic bin with peat moss on day 29.

She is definitely gravid. She's been showing all of the appropriate colors (very dark with neon blues and yellows) and her belly is much larger and lumpier than last month. Day 29 I found her on the bottom of her screened cage so into the egg laying chamber she went. For the past 6 days it seems like she is more interested in escaping than laying!!

I even replaced the bedding with sand to see if that would make a difference. I don't know how but she has found a way of escaping each time we put her back in the bin! I'm seriously thinking about putting her terrarium inside of the bin with the sandy bottom, and just taking off the bottom of her cage. I put her back into her cage today and while she is drinking, she doesn't seem to have an appetite.

She isn't showing any kind of pain and hasn't been pacing the bottom of her cage today----What should I do??

 

[spencer k]

if shes really ready, shell do it. mine was pawing at the bottom of the cage and in the trashcan she went. she was digging within 10 mins of me putting her in there.

 

[Lancecham]

I wouldn't be terribly concerned yet, especially if she is drinking. It is common for them to go off food just before they lay. If she gets lethargic, weak and sunken eyes, there may be a problem. You may want to add a heat lamp to one side of the laying container. They will find the spot where it is the right temperature and start digging.
Good luck!

 

[DNA]

I have had a female panther, I took her to mate with a male this June. She have never laied. In 26th september, she was mated again. Up to now she never laied yet. She dig in both pregnancy.
She sometimes drank and ate a little.

 

[mizmole]

She still hasn't laid. This is her first clutch of eggs so I'm nervous that she doesn't know what to do.

Should I use a branch in her laying chamber or should I just set her on the sand and leave her be for a while?

 

[Julirs]

Are you moving her to an egg laying chamber? Can one fit in her cage? I am not an advocate of moving them to something else to lay eggs. All of my females cages have a laying bin in them full time. Has she made any attempt? Like scratching in the sand? Is the sand moist enough to hold a tunnel-you don't want sand to collapse around her.

 

[smyth]

i agree with what lancecham said aslong as she looks healthy and is still strong and her eyes arent sunken then she shud be ok, but keep a close watch on her health if she starts to deteriorate in the slightest id take her to the vets, also im just goin from my current experience here, if she isnt eating then im right in thinkin she isnt gettin any calcium? i would get some liquid calcium put it into her water and give it her that way, i made the mistake of not doin this and am now in a situation with a very sick cham so i jusr hope it will help you.

 

[mizmole]

Hey guys. I ended up taking the bottom off of her cage and putting everything into a large bin with a sandy bottom 2 days ago. She definitely looks more comfortable because she is back to her normal gravid colors....but still nothing

She looks healthy, still drinking but hasn't eaten in 3 days. This is officially day 41....I think a trip to the vet soon?

 

[mizmole]

Oh I should mention that she did start digging about 3 days ago but stopped and hasn't attempted....that I know of since

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Hey guys. I ended up taking the bottom off of her cage and putting everything into a large bin with a sandy bottom 2 days ago. She definitely looks more comfortable because she is back to her normal gravid colors....but still nothing

She looks healthy, still drinking but hasn't eaten in 3 days. This is officially day 41....I think a trip to the vet soon?

If it were me I would go to the vet. Better safe than sorry. I figure the loss of her would be a lot heaver than a vet visit.

With that being said , I tend to be a little over cautious.

 

[smyth]

i totally agree m8 take her to the vets IF she is eggbound you dont wanna leave it too late and lose her, altho my female cham on her first successfull egg layin she stopped eating for like a week so 3 days isnt too long really.

 

[kinyonga]

Since she was digging and has now stopped I would worry that she is past the point of digging. Because of this I would take her to a vet ASAP because it might be the time that oxytocin will help before she becomes totally eggbound. I'm not a vet...this is just my opinion. A vet should be able to tell you what needs to be done.

 

[mizmole]

Hey everyone! I went to the vet yesterday and he said that she was doing really well. She still looks healthy and is very active-which is a great sign. He took some x-rays and found no obstructions so sent me home with extra calcium supplements for her. He suggested to replace the bedding with vermiculite and she's been at the bottom of her cage atleast a dozen times digging and testing the bedding out. I'm hoping to find some eggs by the end of the day!!

Here's a picture of her x-ray! Talk about expecting mother!!

 

[BocaJan]

WOW! Good luck with the eggs. Do you have your laying medium just in the bottom of the cage or in a bucket of some sort? They need about 12" deep of the laying medium so they can dig down to the bottom to lay.

 

[Nicodemayo]

Hats off to you taking her to the vet. Fight the urge and dont peek! Let her do her thing and im sure she'll be fine.

Nic

 

[smyth]

that pic is amazing, i never knew their whole body filled with eggs like that! i hope she lays soon m8 ur gona have loadsa eggs by the looks of that x-ray lol.

 

[kinyonga]

The whole body being filled like that is part of the reason they stop eating just before laying IMHO!

 

[smyth]

that would make perfect sense i just didnt kno they filled up all the way to the neck, very interesting to see that.

 

[mizmole]

Woke up this morning and my female had been a very busy girl since she laid exactly 30 eggs last night!!! She is doing great and all of the eggs are in the incubator already. Now the wait begins....about 6 months right?? temps from 70-80*?

Thanks so much for all of the replies your advice really helped. Boca, after your post regarding the 12" of substrate I increased the vermiculite last night and apparently that was the problem!! I woke up and her belly was 1/3 the size it had been for the over a month. Thanks so much