Female Levis levis acting different?

[Jay84]

Hey there,

I have only had my yearling pair of Levis for a month now. I have been feeding them up to get a bit of weight on them so that i can cool them for breeding. The crickets have been gutloaded and dusted with calcium and vitamins. The geckos are doing really well as they have put on ALOT of weight in such a short time.

Since having them and observing what i consider to be their 'normal' behaviour (emerging from their hide at night, eating, then sitting above the heat mat, then retreating back to their hide before te sun comes up).

The other night i saw the male attempting to mate with the female, he didnt seem to be successful but dont know if he has been while i wasnt looking.

So this different behaviour........ the female has been very restless during the night. insted of coming out and staying calm and just lolling around and sitting above the heatmat, she is rambling around the cage, digging, going back under her hide, more rambling, more digging. and the last 2 mornings i have gotten out of bed at around 10am and she is curled up in the corner above the heatmat...... NOT under her hide in the cooler end. its is strange she is in the open in the middle of the day, as i type she is out in the open sitting on the hotspot.

i have noticed considerable weight gain around her belly, but cant see any eggs. i have held her up so i can see her underside. all i can see is a big bulging belly!

any idea why she is out in the open above her heat??? the male is under his hide.


note: there are 2 hides, one above the heat, one in the cool end.

 

[JasonL]

She is more than likely gravid, and is definatley stressed by the male, digging to get away and not wanting to share a hide with the ever keen male. Thus I keep my males seperate and only introduce them for a couple of night a year, so it doesn't effect the females eating.

 

[Jay84]

Oh she is still eating.... like a MACHINE! between 3 and 8 crickets per night. The male just sits there, he doesnt bother her, from what i have seen. i suppose i cant see what happens 'under the sheets' tho lol. ill have to sort something out to seperate them.

if she is gravid would the eggs be fertile? as they havnt been cooled?

 

[JasonL]

They don't need to be as such, small reptiles get cooled from the drop in ambient temperatures, they arn't easily fooled. The first and last clutches of levis are often infertile, sometimes 1 good one and 1 bad one.. The female will need to eat at a maximum level to keep her weight up during her gravid period and also thermoregulate, of which the male will interfere with so it is best you kep them seperate and introduce him for a few nightly visits during spring.

 

[Jay84]

ok, thanks for that JasonL. you have been a great help!

i have got heatcord and tubs and just ordered a thermostat so will hopefully be building a rack for them soon.

As for cooling, my loungeroom is gettin down to about 10 degrees at night and about 18 during the day. the heatmat is on 24/7. i didnt want to cool them just yet as the male was a little slim. once i seperate them ill put them into cooling properly.

 

[JasonL]

Yeah, understand.. keep them heated 24/7 untill it warms up, then only heat them day time hours for the rest of their lives, 8 - 9 hours winter, 12 - 13 hours summer.

 

[Jay84]

ill post some updated pics soon so u can see the change in them