BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I went to get Virginia out of her new cage to sunbathe on the patio like I do everyday it is sunny, same with Maxx (and now Riley, as well).. but when I picked her up, I felt this mass.. almost felt like a beer-belly. It was quite firm.. on the lower section of the midsection.. like below the stomache (which is around the middle of the midsection, I believe) and above the cloaca.. that section. I have noticed she has been basking a lot lately, too. She usually basks for about 9-10 hours or so, and I have measured her external body temperature to be a hundred (usually they stop basking once they hit around 90 or so).. and today was the first day she took a full meal in a few weeks. Last week she only took a bite and was done.. I also have noticed she has been looking fatter.. but she has been looking this way for a few weeks.

Is she ovulating? Or is it babies/slugs that I'm feeling? False alarm perhaps?

And I know I said I wouldn't ask questions like I did with the last time.. but I'm curious.

And she has particularly been basking with her lower-back (where the babies would be) directly under the lamp. So maybe she is gravid.. fingers crossed.

Doubt its babies or slugs u can feel,one its still early,and 2 not sure its really possable to feel them anyway

Could possably be ovulation,if she appears to have puffed up,normally whole body puffs abit but lower to mid section is where it does the most,but can be subtle at times,some show it well,others dont

When did she start rejecting males?if it was a while back my guess is she ovulated back then,when ive noticed ovulation its then the females start rejecting or males stop showing interest in that particular female

Yeah, I couldn't get another mating since the time she was put upside down. He never seemed interested anymore.. so I guess she was ovulating them? I wonder what the bulge was I felt then.. could be fat, after all.. who knows..

I haven't put them together in a while since then, so I will try right now and I'll let you know the reactions.

Ema was interested in no-time, but Virginia did NOT like the idea. She ran full speed, and actually gave some pretty nasty bites to Ema on the head and neck. I guess that is what he gets for not testing her.. he is okay, but really scared of her now..

I would say it is officially done.. and since she has been basking literally non-stop since about a week or so ago (and yes, the temperatures are okay), and that bulge I seen, and her seemingly fatter.. maybe something is to come. Does it sound promising to you Richard?

Yes ,sounds promising,now the long wait,lol

Now for the months of daily "is she gravid posts" fingers crossed for girl Dakota. Certainly sounds good.

Nah, I'll hold off on them posts.. I got mixed reviews then, and I think I know what to look for and what to pass off.. but this whole basking 24/7 is new to me.. and I thought she was giving the signs of being gravid, so I wanted to check with the breeders! I really, really hope she is gravid. I have been off and on about keeping all the babies, since surely I can get some females out of the brood, but unless I go throw them outside housing in the yard (not literal of course).. only 1 more room for the skink. I decided to give the whole garage to Dad for his growing hot family.

She was so angry, she literally bit everything that moved past her. I put them together on the patio, and after a bit of chasing and her attacking him, he continues. They got behind a 55 gallon stand (which is where he stopped and starting to bluff at her because he was now scared), which is where some surplus blinds are, and when I moved the blinds, she attacked it! She even tried to bite my hand when I moved it past her to put her back in her cage.. I felt so bad.

She literally basked all day soaking up bunches of the sun's UV rays, and I put her back a bit ago, and still is basking! I knew some females basked a lot, but I never thought it was this excessive!

Every female is different,even same female can do different things each year,some years they may bask a ton,other years they seem to hide away more,they always keep you guessing

Do you think I should raise the basking temperatures to 115F or so? Or do you think she prefers to be at a constant 100F?

Id probably just leave her be personally,thats just me though,i dont fool around with anything,just treat them all the same,male/female,up the duff or not

Some have hot basking spots though,but big temp gradients to compensate so they can get away from the heat

I wish you luck Dakota, the long wait is hard! My girl went 133 days last season- which is a bit long for a Northern. I have been trying to pair up Thor and Calypso this past week- but my male is not showing much interest yet

StaceyLeigh wrote:I wish you luck Dakota, the long wait is hard! My girl went 133 days last season- which is a bit long for a Northern. I have been trying to pair up Thor and Calypso this past week- but my male is not showing much interest yet

I'm sure he will puck up the ques soon, hopefully!

Look what the Beast did to Ema..

Dakota wrote:Look what the Beast did to Ema..

I say, good sign that it's time to stop putting them together..

X2

I would definitely agree.. especially after this time around..

Dakota wrote:I would say it is officially done..