I really could use some advise....

[lcsphx]

I got a female panther who is 2 years old , I recently got her and have not yet dealt w/ any eggs in my past. Anyhow, She and my male mated 3 time durning a four day period, and then after the 4th day, she showed her obvious signs of no longer wanting to even look at him "looked and acted kind of like a gila monster" this is when I separated them. she on and off still shows those black and orange colors when I go to mist her or when I wear a red shirt, or sometimes when i offer her food,,, I put a sand/soil bin in her cage about 15 days after the last day they mated, though it has been 24 days since the last day they mated.She has not showed any interest in the laying bin has NOt been wondering the bottom of cage, she IS rather lazy, and she has not ate today or yesterday afternoon, the last time she ate WAS EARLY YESTERDAY but she only wanted 3 super , and refused the dubias Normally she eats at least 5-9 feeders a day. So my question is, ;;should I just pour her sand/soil box in to a trash can with higher side walls and leave her in it? seems kinda mean? I just worry about the whole egg bond possibility.. Oh by the way her cage is covered for privacy and doesn't know when I'm peaking in at her. any help would be awesome... Thank you all!

 

[Mike Fisher]

Sounds like she is not ready yet. Typically they go off feed for a few days or even a week, then get really restless. At that point, you need to monitor her to see if she will lay them where you have set up. She may not be happy with the spot. If she doesn't like it, she must be moved to a more suitable laying bucket. So, yes, get one ready now so you have it and won't be scrambling at midnight on a Sunday.

In many cases of egg binding, it is because the keeper is stubborn and refuses to give her options. If she's not happy with the laying spot, try a different one or rearrange the current one.

Just a bucket with moist sand and peat moss mixed might work, but in my experience, they like some decoration, like a plant with the root mass buried into the sand, and maybe a nice wide flat rock or paver stone. They'll sometimes dig the hole right at the edge of the rock, or into the root ball of the plant. Many times I'll even pre-start a hole for them, and they'll use it about 50 percent of the time.

Another important observation here, if it has too much peat in it, they don't like it as much as a more sandy soil. If it is too sandy though the hole can collapse. Dig some test holes with your fingers until you are happy that it can hold its shape.

Good luck.