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Am I being overly cautious?

DragonsDenSerpents

DragonsDenSerpents

Murphy's Guinea Pig
I'm wondering if my breedings didn't take, but I'm also wondering if I'm doubting because last year was such a disaster and I'm subconsciously expecting the worst.

Parkay weighed in at 407g before her first mating with Dusty. She has remained consistently around that weight for several months previously, dipping as low as 380g and as high as 409g, but maintaining an average of around 400g. Her first confirmed lock was on 2/27/13. They have had four confirmed locks in total. I noticed her going into shed on 3/19/13 and she completed the shed on the 25th. Her last shed before this was on January 20th. She sheds on average every 2.5 months. As of today, she weighs 444g.

While Parkay has gained weight, she doesn't LOOK gravid to me, at least in comparison with some of the photos I've seen here. She left the laybox yesterday and has been hanging out on the opposite side of her bin. Should I put her in with Dusty again? He was uninterested in her for a fifth lock, but that was before her prelay (supposedly) shed.

I realize I'm probably overreacting and she'll lay in a week or so, but I want to see what folks think. She refused her meal before her shed, and I have not fed her since.
 
"Some" very experienced people have told me that they like to put the female back with the male one more time right after the pre-lay shed. If she does not agree to breed, she is most likely gravid. If she does breed, you won't miss your opportunity.

She has gained a decent amount of weight, though. Can you feel anything, if you let her crawl, in a straight line, on the ground, relaxed, between your thumb and forefinger? If you use enough pressure you should be able to feel her stomach as the first (barely perceptible) bump, and then you _may_ feel a series of egg bumps from there down. Or you may not- it takes a while to develop the feel for the eggs, and if she isn't completely relaxed, you can't feel them at all.
 
I can't tell if I'm feeling bumps or if that's just her moving. She's not quite relaxed and she's very toned. I may just stick her in with Dustin again.

On the plus side, she was digging around in her bin earlier tonight and looks like she needs to poo, despite not having eaten for a while.
 
She probably is gravid and she will probably lay in the next 7-10 days. It sounds like if she is refusing food and being active she will lay soon. Good Luck!
 
I can rarely feel any eggs inside my females unless it's right towards the end around the pre lay shed or right after is when I really start noticing and being able to feel eggs inside. Off and on before this time I can on occasion but not as well.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. :) Parkay's buried herself in her laybox and keeps poking her head out to watch me (my desktop is right next to the snake rack that she's in). I'm trying not to bother her too much and leaving the lights off except for the computer screen. Ramsay and Tyrion (beardie and frilled) are wondering why it's bedtime so early!
 
Weighed Parkay today. She is back down to 398g and no eggs. :( Advice? I'm going to put her in with Dustin again to see what happens.
 
I'm not possibly familiar with last year's situations, assuming they were posted here so I'll approach from a beginning standpoint.

  1. Age of snakes?
  2. Did you brumate/cycle the snakes?
  3. What was such a disaster last year?
  4. Any other details, besides weights?

I know I'm personally struggling with my pairings this year, but my male is also a new, young animal (a tessera purchased from SMR back in Feb at the Arlington, NARBC show, so not sure if Don cooled him). I also didn't fully cycle my colubrids like I normally do. Typically I'll start reducing feeds in Oct, pull heat by Nov, and have animals cooled and down from Dec to March. I know many don't cycle their corns, yet I also know that some breeders have noted increased fertility among both sexes when they bromate their animals.

I just put heat back to my corns last week and my Mexican hogs 2 weeks prior. I think my Mexican hogs have paired; I left them together for a week and now when the male is placed back in with female she freaks completely out. Right now my tessera is entering a shed cycle, same with my male great plains rat and my male desert king shed last week. My herp room is hitting 85°F in the afternoons now that we've warmed up here in NM (yet not warm enough for cooling yet, my house is swamp cooled versus central heating and air). Prior to this it was hanging at 68-72°F.

With it heating up I've also had my male centralian carpet python cast sperm plugs, and my assumed female is in a shed cycle. My male tokay gecko is starting to call in the evenings and about 90% of my female leopard geckos have ovulated (I just haven't paired them yet, not sure if I want to deal with baby leos this season).

Long story short, if you've not cycled it might be possible that they just don't want to do the deed or possibly just don't want to do it yet.
 
I have heard of them sometimes reabsorbing the eggs?

I have been waiting for my girl to lay her eggs. Been a week or so past her pre lay shed.

Maybe try pairing her again?
 
They are five and a half (Dusty) and four (Parkay). They were not brumated as my house temperatures don't ever go low enough anywhere for a good brumation cycle. They locked up four times successfully starting in late February.

Last year's disaster had nothing to do with this pair - I just had a missexed "female" and one of my males passed suddenly due to a thermostat breakdown, resulting in no pairs for the year. Parkay at the time was only 350ish grams, and I wanted her closer to 400g.

I did put them back together today; Parkay was unreceptive and Dustin lost interest very quickly. I cannot feel eggs in her. I'm thinking of seeing if she'll eat today, as she hasn't eaten since I noticed her go blue.
 
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