Re: Need advice--Sulcatas displaying breeding behaviour?

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Posted by Matt J. on June 29, 2002 at 23:06:54:

In Reply to: Need advice--Sulcatas displaying breeding behaviour? posted by Craig McDonald on June 29, 2002 at 20:15:25:

: About 4 or 5 months ago, we noticed mud on the carapace of Rapture.

Generally, the mud is from them flipping it up on their backs for heat insulation. 100% normal.

: My wife even saw Parry on top of her back, but not copulating. In the succeeding months, we have seen Rapture "mounted" on Parry several times,. We asked the Vet, adn they said they might just be establishing dominance.

It feel it's always a dominance issue. We have one monster female who breeds the other, small females. It's pretty unusual, but I feel quite normal being housed in static captive conditions as far as I'm concerned.

: Anyway, today, we went out to check on them in their pen and we saw that the grass in one corner of the pen is turned up, and there are dig marks in the dirt beneath. I understand that Sulcatas tend to be diggers, but my understanding is that they generally dig to get out of the heat. It has been really hot here lately, but they have a huge house that they generaly go into to escape the heat. They have never dug intheir pen before today.

Another VERY common behavior. They will dig down enough just to keep cool, or to start a burrow. Also, if the animal did lay, just start digging. You will generally know right away how far down they have dug by the number of broken/unbroken roots and how compact the soil is.

: I know that female Sulcatas can hold on to the sperm of the male for long periods of time, and that females have to dig to lay their eggs. I need advice. We are going to make an appointment for Monday to have Rapture X-rayed to see if she has eggs, but I would love some input from other Sulcata owners and breeders.

If you have the money for an X-ray and it makes you feel better, then go for it. If not, don't worry about it. Chances are the animal was just rooting around. If it were laying it generally takes at least two hours and sometimes lasts up to five hours to lay. You would have probably noticed that much activity in one spot.

In the nine years I've been keeping and producing Sulcata I've seen some VERY strange things. Your story sounds pretty normal, so I would not sweat it. :)

Hope that helps some...

Matt

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: : About 4 or 5 months ago, we noticed mud on the carapace of Rapture. : Generally, the mud is from them flipping it up on their backs for heat insulation. 100% normal. : : My wife even saw Parry on top of her back, but not copulating. In the succeeding months, we have seen Rapture "mounted" on Parry several times,. We asked the Vet, adn they said they might just be establishing dominance. : It feel it's always a dominance issue. We have one monster female who breeds the other, small females. It's pretty unusual, but I feel quite normal being housed in static captive conditions as far as I'm concerned. : : Anyway, today, we went out to check on them in their pen and we saw that the grass in one corner of the pen is turned up, and there are dig marks in the dirt beneath. I understand that Sulcatas tend to be diggers, but my understanding is that they generally dig to get out of the heat. It has been really hot here lately, but they have a huge house that they generaly go into to escape the heat. They have never dug intheir pen before today. : Another VERY common behavior. They will dig down enough just to keep cool, or to start a burrow. Also, if the animal did lay, just start digging. You will generally know right away how far down they have dug by the number of broken/unbroken roots and how compact the soil is. : : I know that female Sulcatas can hold on to the sperm of the male for long periods of time, and that females have to dig to lay their eggs. I need advice. We are going to make an appointment for Monday to have Rapture X-rayed to see if she has eggs, but I would love some input from other Sulcata owners and breeders. : If you have the money for an X-ray and it makes you feel better, then go for it. If not, don't worry about it. Chances are the animal was just rooting around. If it were laying it generally takes at least two hours and sometimes lasts up to five hours to lay. You would have probably noticed that much activity in one spot. : In the nine years I've been keeping and producing Sulcata I've seen some VERY strange things. Your story sounds pretty normal, so I would not sweat it. :) : Hope that helps some... : Matt

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