egg on bottom of cage

[reptoman]

The laying bin is a round plastic planter roughly a foot tall and 10 inches across with a small plant in the middle. I filled it with play sand mixed with a small amount of topsoil. I thought it may not be wet enough so i poured some water in it 2 nights ago while she was in the branches. To date I have pulled 14 eggs from the bottom of her cage. I did notice a pit had been dug in the sand since yesterday evening but she still looks pretty plump so I assume she has not layed all of them yet.

 

[reptoman]

here are pics of the laying bin and another tuperware thing i put in there just in case it helped. She never touched the low profile one on the floor of the cage. Both have playsand.

 

[Dez]

Your laying bin may not be big enough..? I use a bin that takes up the entire bottom of the cage... Although I have had female panthers lay in a tiny pot too..

 

[reptoman]

Do you think it would be too late at this point to try and transfer her to a large bucket with Sand in the bottom? I have a couple of the 15 gallon tubs from Home Depot that may work. I just worry about the stress of getting her out of the cage since she does not tolerate handling at all.

 

[reptoman]

She looks much thinner today and ate 2 good sized silkworms off of my finger. i see a pit in the back of the laying bin so i think she has finally laid all of her eggs. I have 18 eggs already in vermiculite that she dropped over the last week before digging and laying the rest. I will post the final count once I get the laying bin out and dig them up. Thanks for all the advise.

 

[sandrachameleon]

sounds like the laying bin was inadequate

 

[reptoman]

next time i will have a much larger bin in the cage. i dont want to go through this again.

 

[reptoman]

She filled the hole in but I could not find any eggs in the laying bin. I put it back in her cage to see if she will continue to dig tunnels and eventually lay.

 

[kinyonga]

If she intentionally filled the hole in, this can be a bad sign. It makes me wonder if she is eggbound.

 

[eric thompson]

laying eggs

We use a clear laying tub, we buy them at the Dollar Store 8"X7"X7" tall, I know alot of ppl will say that is small but our female panthers have had no issues using it. The clear container is nice because you can pick it up and actually see the eggs because they always dig to the bottom. Onto your question, I take them out and check and put it back in if they havent. Is this her first clutch??? Whenever a female digs and doesnt bury the hole on her own, I fill the hole up and she starts over. Good luck!! Hope this helps

 

[reptoman]

I have a clear container that may work if its not too late. Thanks for the advise.

 

[tkilgour]

Just an FYI, but my Sambava girl struggled to lay her eggs. I got her oxytocin, and at night while she was sleeping she just dropped all her eggs on the ground under her. Also, as mentioned, many times when they are infertile they will just drop them on the ground instead of digging.

 

[reptoman]

does that come from the vet via injection?

 

[tkilgour]

does that come from the vet via injection?

Yes, the vet will most likely require an x-ray, calcium injection, and oxytocin. Most likely, the vet will also send you home with calcium and oxytocin to inject yourself if the first injection does not work. Hope this helps!

 

[reptoman]

Thanks. I hope it will not come to that but I will give it one more day and take that route. I appreciate the information. I will let you know what happens.

 

[karebear41486]

Also, if that plant is actually rooted in the play sand, she might be running into roots while trying to dig. I would put in a laying bin that is just moist play sand, without a plant in it.

 

[reptoman]

I have not updated on this in a while since my female ambilobe seemed fine after dropping 21 eggs on the bottom of her cage. She started darkening up again last week and began digging again. This time I made sure there was more topsoil in with the playsand and made sure it was moist. I also covered the top of the laying bin with a 2" layer of wet sphagnum moss. She just layed her 2nd clutch today! Total eggs in clutch is 23. See the pics.

 

[reptoman]

We use a clear laying tub, we buy them at the Dollar Store 8"X7"X7" tall, I know alot of ppl will say that is small but our female panthers have had no issues using it. The clear container is nice because you can pick it up and actually see the eggs because they always dig to the bottom. Onto your question, I take them out and check and put it back in if they havent. Is this her first clutch??? Whenever a female digs and doesnt bury the hole on her own, I fill the hole up and she starts over. Good luck!! Hope this helps

BTW. Your suggestion of the clear laying bin was a great one. I could clearly see the eggs after she had layed. Thanks!

 

[sandrachameleon]

I know its an old thread
But I hope no one uses a clear laying bin - if she digs down and sees light, she can abandon the effort. Too many false starts and she can become egg bound. A dark/opaque container should be used for the laying bin.

 

[reptoman]

I know its an old thread
But I hope no one uses a clear laying bin - if she digs down and sees light, she can abandon the effort. Too many false starts and she can become egg bound. A dark/opaque container should be used for the laying bin.

Ir has been working great for me so far. Good point about seeing light. I would say electrical tape run around the bottom few inches to make it opaque should fix that. The bottom is still clear and the eggs can be clearly seen. It makes it much easier to tell that she has laid and knowing exactly where the eggs are makes it less likely to damage them while excavating.