sand in lq genital operculum?

[bjaeger]

hi,

as the topic title says.. it appears she has some sand in there. it's black, so i'm assuming its sand since that's what i have her in. its been in there for quite some time now. i thought maybe it would just go away over time but it hasn't. she is also gravid and old (5 years+). it appears as though it is sort of pushing it out a little (genital operculum). i can't get a pic without disturbing her a lot, since the sides aren't completely see through.

anyone have any thoughts on this? maybe how to get rid of it, what it is, what caused it, how it can affect birth.

thank you,
brandon

 

[ShredderEmp]

Pictures would be of great help.

 

[bjaeger]

it would be extremely difficult for me to get a good picture of it. she is in a plastic shoebox and it's not exactly see-through. i don't want to disturb her too much by taking her out and placing her into a plastic container and snapping a pic. plus i only have my camera phone (can be tricky).

i'm almost positive that it is sand. i use that really fine sand from the reptile aisle. i'm really considering not using this sand anymore. her "G.O." looks like the flaps are pushed out into an almost birthing-like position but with a clump of sand in between them keeping them open. about a 45 degree angle i'd say. i thought that putting a large bottle cap in there so she would run it over and maybe clean it off but it didn't work. i'm not sure if she actually ran into it or not. i don't water to overdo it (she already has what looks like mycosis).

i've had her for over 5 years now and would hate to see something bad happen to her prematurely.