Female Veiled Carrying Eggs?

[VeiledLily]

Hi Cham Fam!

I’m curious if it looks like Lily is carrying. At certain angles she really looks large and is definitely wider than before she became receptive. I’ve read that laying the first clutch can be very stressful/difficult for some females too and that worries me a little bit

Lily is 7 months old
She’s been receptive for about 2 weeks now, going on 3
Proper laying bin setup
Been giving more privacy/less handling

 

[MissSkittles]

So I replied in your other thread…yes, she looks like she may be working on some eggs.
How big is you lay bin? How deep is the substrate? Ideal size is at least 12” long and wide. Depth doesn’t matter as you are only going to fill it to about 6” with play sand, organic soil or a mix of the two. It is important to make sure that it is moist enough throughout so tunnels won’t collapse. Put a glove on and mix it around to make sure you moisten the lower areas. I failed to adequately do this once and my girl got buried (I dug her out & she’s fine). They don’t just dig down, but also across a bit. If you’re using soil or a mix, you can put a plant in the bin. They like to lay against root balls. Make sure there’s a couple of stable ways in/out. Once she enters her bin and starts digging, she must have absolute privacy. Unless your house is on fire, just cover the visible parts of her enclosure and leave her to do her thing. She might dig a few holes and sleep in her tunnel…this is fine. After a day or two, you’ll find her sitting basking and looking much thinner. Hydrate her well and feed her well for a couple of days. After that, restrict her feedings to 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats) and make sure basking temps are no higher than 80f. Doing this will help reduce her egg production and laying, which shortens our girls lives.

 

[VeiledLily]

So I replied in your other thread…yes, she looks like she may be working on some eggs.
How big is you lay bin? How deep is the substrate? Ideal size is at least 12” long and wide. Depth doesn’t matter as you are only going to fill it to about 6” with play sand, organic soil or a mix of the two. It is important to make sure that it is moist enough throughout so tunnels won’t collapse. Put a glove on and mix it around to make sure you moisten the lower areas. I failed to adequately do this once and my girl got buried (I dug her out & she’s fine). They don’t just dig down, but also across a bit. If you’re using soil or a mix, you can put a plant in the bin. They like to lay against root balls. Make sure there’s a couple of stable ways in/out. Once she enters her bin and starts digging, she must have absolute privacy. Unless your house is on fire, just cover the visible parts of her enclosure and leave her to do her thing. She might dig a few holes and sleep in her tunnel…this is fine. After a day or two, you’ll find her sitting basking and looking much thinner. Hydrate her well and feed her well for a couple of days. After that, restrict her feedings to 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats) and make sure basking temps are no higher than 80f. Doing this will help reduce her egg production and laying, which shortens our girls lives.

Thank you SO much for all of this helpful information! I have her laying bin perfect as you stated what I needed done is done BUT I will mix it around like you said and put a plant in it, I have a spider plant that’ll work perfect for the root ball!