So thin after laying.No apetite.edit:MORE EGGS help!

[Ethelia]

Thank you for that.
My issue however is she has no interest in live food.
Even if I insert live feeders into her mouth she will just crunch them and let them fall out of her mouth.
I have no idea how Id get her to eat a whole mouse

 

[whiskersmom]

They are generally considered good when it comes to putting back weight on a female that has just layed. They are generally considered bad idea for males or non laying females. Some impaction risk and high fat

They can also do some damage if the female is dehydrated. Which this little girl might be.

I would just keep doing what you've been doing and get her to see a vet for an xray as soon as possible. Like I said, females stop eating when they're gravid and getting ready to lay.

 

[zebedeepink]

I had the whole egg thing in June of this year, 2 weeks before I went on holiday :roll: It was a major shock as we thought George was a boy. She laid 18 eggs over the space of a couple of weeks then laid 5 more when we were away on holiday for 2 weeks. Until she had finished with them all, she showed absolutely no interest in live food but would drink syringe after syringe of water. It took her a couple of weeks after laying until she gained her appetite back. She dropped 50g after laying all the eggs but soon regained it all and she now weighs around 650g (she was 350g before she laid the eggs). Just be sure to keep her hydrated and offer her extra calcium as egg laying will use up a lot of her calcium stores. Keep up with the babyfood. You could also try making a bug slushy and syringe feed it to her (sounds gross I know but it could work )

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Thank you all for you help and advice.

I finally feel like Dex is on the road to recovery since I have been dosing her with calcium.
Im still waiting my vet to return though and will be taking her in just to make sure.
She isnt the energetic monster she used to be but she is no longer snoozing all day and is sitting up alert and watching me most of the time.

Dex is still showing absolutely no interest in live food, but is accepting babyfood.
She isnt as chubby as I want her, but I am slowly getting the weight back onto her.
Here's a picture I took 5 minutes ago:

Last night she showed me a dose of the good old Dex manipulation.
I was trying to get a last ml of food into her before I let her escape, but she had decided she'd had enough. So flared her beard up larger than I have ever seen it!
I sat back in shock and giggled at her.
Without missing a bear Dex deflated her beard, scurried up my chest, poked her head into my neck and closed her eyes.
"Try and feed me now momma!"
She was too cute to move.
Curse you Dex. You've got me figured out....

 

[whiskersmom]

Wow, she looks good and pretty healthy. I understand your worry about her.

zebedeepink, you went through the exact same thing I went through...scarey, isn't it?

I don't know if you can see how depleted Sophie looked but this is a pic of her getting ready to lay.

And this is right after...see how skinny she is?

She dug for so long that she wore down most of her nails to the point that they never grew back. Since then I've learned how to make a better lay box so that she doesn't have it so hard.

 

[zebedeepink]

I had a nightmare of a time with George - I was so worried. She didn't even dig though - she just laid them wherever she was so they were all over the viv :roll: She was so exhausted throughout - I hope she never does it again

 

[Ethelia]

UPDATE:
Dex's behaviour is getting better by the day.
She would spend 90% of her day on her basking rock, and the other 10% behind it on a stone ramp I have for her. She was alert and sitting up rather than sleeping all day, but she would only move around 6 inches in her 120 gallon tank.
Today she has finally started pottering around, spending time on the cool side, climbing on her logs, watching me smushed against the glass, aswell as basking.

Still not eating other than enjoying her babyfood. She still spits out any live feeders.
Buddah belly is back, but her bones are still visable eitherside of her tail

More worryingly though she passed a pinky hormonal discharge again today. Please say not more eggs!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

GREAT that Dex is improving! So you think that she is going to lay more eggs?
At least she is more active & basking now. Very good, so she is using more of her tank now? That is a large tank, 120 gallon tank is awesome. Hopefully she is feeling much better now.
Well, too bad she is not eating live feeders but will eat some of the babyfood though. If her buddah belly is back, & she is discharging a pinkish off colored stool/urate type, then yes she might have more eggs.
Keep a very close eye on her again.


Tracie

 

[Ethelia]

Yes she has started walking around her whole tank again rather than sulking on her basking spot ^_^

However the up in activity, the pink discharge + the buddah belly without much improved fatpads does make me suspect she's going to suprise me with more eggs.
Ive made her sleeping box into the kind of 'laybox' she likes by adding alot of layers of fabric and cloth.
She still wont tolerate a laybox with sand, vermicile or soil.

I think Dex is just playing a game called "how much attention can I force my momma to give me before she dies of a heartattack".

Also..... I think you come to realise how much you talk about your girl when the Senior Law Proffesor at my university asks me to bring her in so he can meet her!

EDIT:
Just now Dex has started digging like a wildwoman!
Egg time! >_<

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So Dex is going to lay more eggs, again. Have you had a heart attack yet? She is just trying to get extra attention from her mommy!
I am happy that she seems to be doing better & is much more active now. She should lay any day now, again. At least her condition has improved though & her fatpads will hopefully fill out soon.

Tracie

 

[zebedeepink]

Where in the North are you Ethelia? I live in Halifax West Yorkshire

 

[Ethelia]

Thank you drace, truely, for all the support you have offered whilst Ive been tearing my hair out with worry.

And Zebedee Im actually in East Yorkshire in Hull. Probably an hour and a half out from you. Small lizard-loving world eh?

 

[Tatty]

My litttle girl Tatty alias "Tatsu" just finished laying eggs on Sunday. She was markedly thinner. All her eggs are fertile and in the incubator. She laid 22 of them. She is quite a sight because she dug in the substrate so much that she discolored the scales on her head and nose. I am offering her a high calorie appetitie stimulant as well as regular food. I am trying hard to fatten her up again. Laying eggs really does take a lot out of them. The good news is that all 22 of her eggs are fertile. Good Luck with Dex. I am currently going through the same thing with Tatty.

Janice E.

 

[Tatty]

P.S. I live in Canton, Illinois. Cooper, the adoptee I got from the family who no longer wanted him is the father.

Janice E.

 

[Ethelia]

Little update:
My exotics vet has a long waiting list for an appointment that im working my way through, but as Ive been ringing practically every day he asked his trainee vet to give me a call with some advice.
She said that as she has laid so close to winter it could be that after not eating for so long whilst gravid that she has slipped seemlessly into 'winter shutdown'. She said to try to discourage this, and whilst Im waiting for my appointment, that I should raise her night time temperatures slightly so that it does not feel like winter and she may start to get her appetite back.

Does this sound like a sensible thing to do?


Dex:
Dex is still not eating and is apparently attempting to dig to China! So im still keeping a beady eye on her if she suprises me with more eggs.