BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I searched for some literature on signs of females being pregnant but cannot come up with much information. I would like to know if females do any preparations for labor or show very obvious signs. I have read they become irritable and develop increased weight with fluctuations. Are there any other signs. Thanks

I have no experience but, from what I've read, heavy breathing and more basking.

Well I have been babysittin a friends northern for the past 2 months. He had her housed with another northern but got rid of it. He now doesn't want her as of today so I now have a new skink:) over the past fews months I have noticed her basking a lot and taking food everyday, her stomach area is very bloated with no weight gain in her neck or tail only her belly region. She is gaining about 15-25 grams a week with fluctuations here and there. She is very irritable, still sweet and curious but not fond of her belly being touched or being handled at all. I haven't noticed any change in her breathing yet but she would probably only be 1 1/2 to 2 months along. She doesn't burrow as much as she did prefering to just laze around. I have been offering food daily just in case and making sure she has a little extra calcium and vitamins in her diet. She used to love greens and fruit but have noticed she is going strictly for the protien now,. Anybody who breeds these guys some advice would be helpful. Need to know how and when to prepare for a birthing if she is pregnant. Oh, she is a sexed female. Thanks:)

How was "she" sexed female bts are VERY hard to sex.

Nothing you have described contradicts her being pregnant, but they will occasionally show all the signs of being gravid and never drop anything. The heavy breathing can start anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks before delivery. Some skinks don't do it much at all. The best thing to do is assume that she may be gravid and prepare her enclosure for babies. The gestation period for northerns is around 100 days. At about 90 days I replace the normal substrate with carpet, and modify the water bowl so that a baby skink won't drown in it. That means either a different, very shallow bowl or putting something in the normal bowl that a baby could climb out from.

All you can do at that point is wait. If you know exactly when the two skinks were separated, you could use that as the last possible date they could have copulated. After 120 days or so from that date you can assume she is not gravid.

From the description you gave, I would say the chance that she IS gravid is probably 90%+.

Thank you very much for all the info. She has been bred before or so I'm told. All her behavior aims towards female, I have never seen any hemipenes during pooping. I own several northerns that are either proven or have been ultrasounded so i know there behavior based on sex. Thanks so much for the info!:)

Oh should I immediately remove the babies after they eat there 'sack' or leave them in? Are mothers known for cannibalism? Read a few posts about maternal instincts in skinks so don't know whether or not to remove them. Thanks.

There is really not any documented reason for moving the babies away from the mother. With that being said, I always remove the mother from the "birthing" enclosure when I think she is done. I just worry that she might accidentally injure one of the babies. She could lay down on top of one and suffocate it, or she could "snap" at something that was irritating her without even realizing it was one of her offspring.

It is just easier to remove the mother than to try to corral 15 babies. I am pretty sure that they would be fine if I left them with their mother, but since there is really no advantage to doing that, I don't. I wouldn't want the mother eating the food that I feed the babies every day or two either

Didn't ray have an albino baby the mother killed?

ML - for the Advanced Discussion Forum especially, please only post if you have relevant information to add to the discussion based on experience or facts. Possibly relevant details or things you heard but aren't sure of shouldn't be in here. If you aren't sure, then feel free to ask before posting. Thanks.

The most consistent thing I have noticed is labored breathing, and quite a bit of time between breaths. I gave up weighing because one of my females actually lost weight from the day I began breeding her, and the week she gave birth.

Some are more active, some bask more, some don't...

VERY heavy, large, slow breaths is what I consistently observe because all those babies push against mama's lungs and make breathing more difficult. And yes, sadly, I'm sure there are some mothers that will not breathe more heavily. Sorry!

Well i woke up this morning and she is looking very tired. She is spread out under the heat light and is now suddenly breathing heavy. She usually gets excited when she see's me and comes over to the side of her tank, but not today. She just looked at me for a few seconds then goes back to sleep. Could she possibly be in the beginning of labor? I have no idea when she would have bred but he said he put her in with his other skink in february but never saw them breed. I am running out to the store right now to get a large bin and some blankets just in case.