shingleback pregnant

[mikep]

hi my female shingleback seems alot more heavier than my male. she looks massive and her behaviour seems a tiny bit unusual. when you pick her up her stomach seems all abit un even. dont get me wrong shes healthy but i think she might be pregnant. only bought these guys a week ago pictures very soon.

what do yo guys reackon??
thanks

 

[chewbacca]

bump

 

[Helikaon]

could be their breathing gets very laboured nearer to birth. her whole body will lift off the ground. if shes starting to breath heavy then she is probably gravid

 

[mikep]

yeh shes been making weird sounds with her breathing. and her head is always up even when she is sleeping she may lay her head against something to keep it up. i mean she is alot heavier than the male and when you pick her up it doesn't feel normal as in like her weight is not always balanced ( feels heavier or solid in certain places)so i just leave her for the moment.
it's hard to describe.

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 11:57 AM ----------

more than 2wice the males size

 

[Helikaon]

ok holding her head up is not normal for a gravid female. sounds like she has a respiratory infection. saying this she may also be gravid which is bad as her lungs/air sacs are already compromised. You need to get her very dry and increase temps. and really she sounds like she needs a good examination by a vet and put on some decent antibiotics.

 

[AllThingsReptile]

not to be negative, but pics will help people figure it out.....

also i think, even tho i have no idea about your problem, if your worried, find a vet....

 

[mikep]

KK thanks but what makes you think she has a respitory infection i only bought these guys a week ago

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 12:31 PM ----------

by the way she spends only a little of the time in the hot end every couple of hours

 

[Helikaon]

respiratory noise and holding their heads up are very typical signs of a respiratory infection in blue tongues. they seem to hold their heads up to let gravity keep the mucous down. plus the fact that shingles are prone to getting RI's when not kept very dry, and at this time of the year with most of the east coast flooded it would not shock me. you just need to make sure you get onto it as fast as possible as it will kill a blue tongue faster then most other things. also sick reptiles do not thermo regulate well which would explain why she is not basking as often as she should be. If i were you i would have her in a hospital box with ambient temp at 32, she would be treated daily witha medicated humidifier dried and then put back in her enclsoure and she be on systemic antibiots. better to be safe then sorry and lose your breeder female and possibly 2 babies and then run the risk that your male shingle will never breed with another female.

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 11:42 AM ----------

also if she was a healthy gravid female, she should pretty much be basking as soon as the lights on and untill the after it goes off

 

[mikep]

ok thankyou very much. the only thing is i got these guys of a VERY RESPECTED breeder and keeper. maybe they didnt know.

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 12:49 PM ----------

also if her head is up could that bee a sign of being pregnant ????

 

[Helikaon]

well the only way youll know is to get it diagnosed. also as i said the lungs are already compromised with babies pressing up against them if shes gravid. whihc means it may be very acute. How long has she been keeping her head up. they can get sick with RIs in sub optimal conditions very quickly.

 

[mikep]

well i live in sydney so its going to be humid. but the cage is 4 foot buy 2. i have a heat lamp with the temp under it 32 degrees. cold end is about 24 degrees. the unusual breathing doesn't happen much. for example not today but yesterday i heard it once. she seems to be sleeping with her head up. by the way thankyou for helping me helikon, very much appreciated. i think i will take her out but her in a hot tub around 35/37 and if she doesnt improve take her to a vet.

 

[Chris1]

RI's are not to be taken lightly, 18 months ago i picked up a beardy with an RI who hadnt been treated in time, (she had been taken to a cat and dog vet and been given 3 useless doses or baytril orally) i took her straight to the reptile vet who diagnosed it as pnemonia and warned me she would possible be permanently damaged.

shes on fortum (antibiotic injections) for the 4th time now, shes done 2 individual 1 month stints, a 3 month stint and 9 months after her 3 month stint finished shes back on for another 3 months,..

shes heated 24/7, any less and she does down hill really fast,...

so far shes cost me over $650 in vet bills, plus purchase cost,....and after this lot she'll probably be fine for another 6-9 months and then back to the vet for more,....

seriously, if u suspect RI, dont hesitate, it will end up costing u alot more than a single trip now.

 

[mikep]

ok here are some pics

 

[mikep]

thats the male under the light. you can see hot spot is 37.4. the female is next to the male on the ground. only had all the set up for 4 days thats why im improvising (you can see foam fitting) all new stuff

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 01:38 PM ----------

can anyone tell anything by the photo's

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 02:09 PM ----------

any way if he doesn't eat tonight i will take him to david vella asap. thanks everyone

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 02:46 PM ----------

does she look gravid

---------- Post added 13-Jan-11 at 04:48 PM ----------

BUMP !!!!!!!
plus shes not licking or sticking her tongue out havent tried to feed her yet

 

[Chris1]

i dont have enough shingle experience to make a judgement on whehter or not shes knocked up, but figured i'd post just to bump ur thread back to the top,....

 

[mikep]

thanks mate appreciate it

 

[Blackdog]

Mike, get yourself one of those cheap Zoo Med humidistats and check the humidity inside the enclosure both night and day. Ideally 40 to 50% would be good. the temps in the hot end can be higher so long as they can move well away from it when they need to. Check her nostrils, if they blocked she is probably suffering from an RI. I have kept a couple of Shinglebacks here on the Sunshine Coast for quite a few years without problems except for the initial settling in period. Initially i set them up in what i thought was a naturalistic set up but I couldn't control the humidity and one of them experienced light RI and scale rot on two scales within a week. I stripped the tank and replaced the substrate with newspaper and shredded paper (Tank is 2.4 x 0.8 metres and the cool end is kept half full of clean dry shredded paper at all times). I am not sure how it works but the paper seems to keep the humidity low. They were fed mainly dog food and pink mice before i got them and were converted to a diet of about 90% vegetables pretty well straight away. They have powered on ever since with no problems other than requiring an occassional nail trim, so it can be done even on the coast. Good luck with her, hopefully she's fine and might drop a couple of chubby pine cones for you in a few months.

 

[mikep]

thanks black dog. her nostrils are clear from what i know and heard she never makes noise out of them. but her head is always UP ??????. the tank is big 4 buy 2 tempretues are 37 hot 25 cold. news paper shredding a hide box and thats it. from the pictures black dog would you say she looks pregnant or just big.... also its tongue is not sticking out?? has nay of yours done that? i mean i cannnot say shes been acting wierd i have only had them for 4 days.
thanks for the help

 

[hornet]

i would also say vet asap. Blueys (shingles are pretty much a bluey) normally flick their tongue quite regularly so that could indicate a problem. Even if there is nothing wrong wouldnt your rather spend 60-70 on a checkup and be given the all clear or leave it and possibly have her die or be left with many hundreds worth of vet bills and months of recovery?

 

[mikep]

thanks hornet