BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hey everyone, Long time no see.

I have a breeding question. This is the third time we have bred my caramel northern. The first time, she had a ten day breeding window, and the babies were in born 120 - 130 days. She had 14 live births on June 18th and one stillbirth three days later.

Last year, she bred over an 18 day time frame, and the babies were born in 109 - 127 days. She had 17 live births on June 1st. Both pregnancies had very similar symptoms all the way through.

Then we come to this year where nothing has been normal, if there is such a thing in pregnancy. She bred over an 18 day time period from January 13th -February 3rd. She stopped eating May 18th. She started taking small gulps of air May 20th, although that did not become consistent until the end of May. She's actually breathing easier now than she was a week or do ago, which is very bizarre to me. On May 29th, she began exhibiting a lot of pacing, soaking in her water (which she normally does not do), and trying to figure out how to get out of her tank (which she only tries to do a day or two before birth).

She does not seem to be in distress other than the typical "I'm ready for this to be over with" type thing. She has been doing some wriggling and sitting with her head at a 45° angle the last couple of days. She will square off at her back end and develop a hump near her back legs only to have it flatten out again. She has periods of rest and then times where she walks and climbs on the sides of the walls for an hour or more. She has been repeating those behaviors for the last few days as well. She's not as big as she was last year, but then again, she carried SEVENTEEN that time.

Looking at these dates, I calculate that she is now between 133 and 151 days. I know there has been some discussion about blueys holding on to sperm until they are fertile. Could that be a possibility? Is it possible a baby could be hung up and she can't deliver? Perhaps we began breeding to early and only need to look at the end of the cycle, which would put her into more of an appropriate time frame. Am I just being a nervous mother? What behaviors should I be looking for if she is in distress or the babies are I trouble. Short of any obvious medical change, at what point do you think I should take her in and have her checked out?

Thanks. I appreciate any insight you can throw my way.

normally if they are having issues,they will try pushing them out but nothing comes

mine often do the wiggle thing,like squirming to reposition babies,often over a month before birthing all the way through to birthing,i see it as them trying to perhaps get more comfy,would be tight in there with alot of babies

i cycle my northerns just by ambient temps outside of cage,in winter it cools down enough for them to cycle,i dont need to do anything but put them together,last season they bred earlier than year before,but over a 6 week window,so endedsame time as year before which was a 2 week window,though babies last year came alot earlier,late dec as apposed to mid feb the year before,not sure when ovulation occured


your lass will probably drop any time now,and be closer to the 133 day estimate,but depends when they ovulate,which
can be a bit after mating,and they can hide gravidity quite well

keep us posted,usually by the stage you start wondering they finally pop,lol

Well, I guess I should have waited a couple more days before I made my post. Oscar Rose had 15 babies and 6 partially developed slugs this afternoon. One is super tiny and probably will not live, but the others are healthy, fat and active. It looks like almost half will be caramels like the Mom. Now we just have to wait for the shed to see their true colors.

Interesting side note. The first year, she had 14 and one stillborn two days later. Last year, she had 14 healthy and three with compressed heads and sprung jaws that we put down. This year, she had 14 healthy and a runt along with the 6 slugs. Guess she likes the number 14.

pictures please!!!!

Awesome!!!!

thought she must be close, nice job,she consistantly pumps out sizable litters

Yes Richard. She does.

Another question for the breeders. How many years do you breed your females? And do you breed them every year when they come out of brumation or do you give them a break in between litters.

i aim for every year,though if they dont get the condition back on ,they take a year off,the outdoors ones,especially late season droppers often take a yearoff,babies born when temps have dropped gives females no time to recover

usually if they have sufficient condition they happily breed annually,most of mine are in groups so cant prevent it anyways,lol

Thanks. I wasn't sure. She always happily obliges when I pair her. I love having babies to care for. I'm sure they breed every year in the wild. I just wouldn't want to do anything that would be detrimental to her. I appreciate your input.