egg laying, weight questions

[crystal9534]

we have a female veiled we bought from a pet store in may. she was pretty small when we bought her but unsure of her age at the time. she weighs 90 grams now. is that normal do you think? also, she's been going down to the bottom of her cage lately and am unsure of when females start laying eggs. she was exposed to a male last month and wanted to breed, but knew she was too small. i showed her to him today and she absolutely did not want to breed. that's why i'm thinking maybe she wants to lay.

 

[carol5208]

is she eating? does she look fatter to you? They can lay from about 6 months on whether bred or not.

 

[crystal9534]

yes she's eating. she looks about the same

 

[kinyonga]

Do you have a place for her to dig in the cage to show you when she's ready to lay eggs?
If she was sexually mature when she was exposed to the male she could be ready to lay eggs.

 

[crystal9534]

is her weight ok? i'd say she's almost a year old. she weighs 91 grams. i haven't made a laying bin yet. i need to buy dirt if regular dirt from outside doesn't work. we don't use any chemicals and are a decent ways away from any neighbors. any suggestions on laying bin dirts?

 

[Thompson]

Use washed play sand. You can buy it at home depot and at lowes. The laying bin should be 12" deep btw. 91 Grams is a good weight. By seeing a male, she probably started cycling an infertile clutch.

 

[crystal9534]

do i wash the sand myself or is it already washed? if it's not, do i just rinse it under water? so glad to hear she's a good size i was worried she was too small for her age

 

[kinyonga]

If you buy playsand it should already by washed and should say so on the bag. You still have to make it moist enough to hold a tunnel...but not too moist. You don't want mud.

 

[MantiRich]

Is it not true that you can also use potting soil? It seems to hold a tunnel well as it has fibrous components. It also has to be the right moisture to do well.

 

[crystal9534]

ok she's got a laying bin. let's see if she'll use it. should i cover the front of her cage for privacy? i'm still not 100% that she needs to lay

 

[carol5208]

can u post a couple of pics of her?

 

[creep]

my girl is very young and was about 83 grams a day or two before she laid, after she was only 46 grams.. so i would think she is ready if she is young.. mine is about 6mos old