So Gertrude consistently throws me for a loop. I was really hoping to breed her this year just as a fun little project that my kids could enjoy with me while I wait for my long term project babies to grow up.
I started pairing her in January even though she hadn't had her first shed of the year. I only paired her every other week just to see how she and the male would react. My male was ready to go from day one, but Gertrude was not very interested. She didn't get aggressive with him, but just tried to stay away from him.
She finally had her first shed of the year on April 8th. So I was excited to really get started with breeding. Almost immediately after her shed she became very active, 24/7. I thought maybe that meant she was looking for a mate, even though that would be unusual for a female. I tried pairing her with my male a few times and she reacted very poorly every time. Instead of just trying to stay away from him, she would act like she was in a panic. I supervised every pairing very closely and she would thrash around. I actually felt bad for her, so I would only keep them together for just a few minutes before separating them.
I started to wonder if maybe she was actually a male? Her tail is extremely short and tapers quickly and she was sold to me as a proven female breeder, but I haven't actually sexed her myself. Anyway, she continued to be super active (which is highly abnormal for her too, she normally hides 100% of the time). She also refused two meals in a row, which is not very unusual for her (how she every became overweight I'll never know, because she often is a sporadic feeder for me). And I did the math and realized it was about 14 days since her shed, so I gave her a lay box just in case and she instantly retreated to it. She laid in there for two days without leaving. I checked on her today and she laid 12 eggs. I doubt any of them are viable. 10 of them are definitely slugs, but two of them look okay. I would be very surprised if anything hatches, but I set them up anyway. I also palpated her several times over the whole course of this thing, but she hates being handled and is still a bit overweight, so she tenses her body and I could never get an accurate read.
Anyway, my previous breedings with other corns have been extremely textbook, so this girl is constantly confusing me!