Nero Egernia
Well-Known Member
A little embarrassed to be asking this but I need advice for my female Western Netted Dragon.
It seems that every time she becomes gravid she always scatters slug eggs. I have not once seen her test digging at all. The only time she seems to dig is after she has emptied herself of her eggs. She often digs a tunnel and then abandons it, plugging up the entrance. Both her and the male also burrow under the basking rock, but that seems to be their home tunnel. Last year she laid two clutches for me as I got her sometime in November/December. Both clutches were scattered slugs. Before I acquired her she had just laid a clutch which apparently had dried up before they were discovered. At first I thought her clutches wouldn't work because I don't think she was brumated properly as sometime in winter she was sold to a pet shop and was constantly on display, housed with different species, and sand was not the main substrate.
This year, her and the male have been brumated. The male has been seen mating with her on a number of occasions. There is always deep moist sand located near the basking spot. The moist area is in a somewhat open space. Then I placed some dried plants over it to provide cover and privacy but no good clutches. She's always drinking, eating and shedding well, and this season both her and the male have become incredibly friendly.
I'm not sure what else I can do, besides maybe separating them when she looks close to laying. Both of them appear to tolerate each other very well. Or is she laying poor clutches because she's getting old? Can anyone provide insight into this behaviour?
It seems that every time she becomes gravid she always scatters slug eggs. I have not once seen her test digging at all. The only time she seems to dig is after she has emptied herself of her eggs. She often digs a tunnel and then abandons it, plugging up the entrance. Both her and the male also burrow under the basking rock, but that seems to be their home tunnel. Last year she laid two clutches for me as I got her sometime in November/December. Both clutches were scattered slugs. Before I acquired her she had just laid a clutch which apparently had dried up before they were discovered. At first I thought her clutches wouldn't work because I don't think she was brumated properly as sometime in winter she was sold to a pet shop and was constantly on display, housed with different species, and sand was not the main substrate.
This year, her and the male have been brumated. The male has been seen mating with her on a number of occasions. There is always deep moist sand located near the basking spot. The moist area is in a somewhat open space. Then I placed some dried plants over it to provide cover and privacy but no good clutches. She's always drinking, eating and shedding well, and this season both her and the male have become incredibly friendly.
I'm not sure what else I can do, besides maybe separating them when she looks close to laying. Both of them appear to tolerate each other very well. Or is she laying poor clutches because she's getting old? Can anyone provide insight into this behaviour?
