I’m down to two females to lay for the pairings I’ve done. So far. Still considering another, depending upon how many good eggs Twist and Purple Wonder actually lay. After looking more closely at eggs currently incubating, here’s the count.
Bragi x Truffles = 17 good eggs.
Beau x Linette = 13 good eggs, 1 questionable egg. Most look like this:
So that’s 31 potential hatchlings. Two more females to lay. They’re both first-time mothers. Twist seems absolutely stuffed with eggs. I’m guessing 20+. Purple Wonder, maybe 10-15. I’ll know soon, but not soon enough.
It’s never soon enough…but the fun wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if we could manufacture instant-gratification eggs in the same way we can binge watch a sitcom series!
If Twist looks more stuffed than Purple Wonder, I’d love to see a photo! Hard to imagine. Maybe I just don’t have anyone to compare to because all mine went off food so early, they never got as large as she did.
Her Chonkiness aka Twist came out of her nest box for a drink. The lighting is truly awful over where her enclosure is, and my attempt to make it better for a quick phone pic didn’t help. I always feel sorry for any female who is heavy with young, no matter the species. Twist’s face in the first pic seems very expressive. The second image shows the tell-tale rapid taper between gravid body and tail.
That’s a really good point. I usually keep their water near the opening of the nest box for that reason. (I picked Twist’s up for the pictures.) After they finish laying, I put a small, water container inside the nest box itself. I don’t do it before or during laying as I don’t want them to potentially spill it on eggs as they shift around. Most of mine will drink if I hold a water container for them in their nest box during an extended laying.
Thanks, @caron. Things are moving along with Twist. She’s not done yet, but I’ve actually removed the eggs she’s produced so far. She’s laid 23. They seem to have early veins or embryonic disks, but only about 25% seem to be decently calcified. Hopefully that’s just a first time mama thing. She’s been getting a calcium + D3 supplement. Dunno how they will do, but into the moss they go.
