Reduced locomotor ability may increase susceptibility to predation and hence may represent a proximate mechanism by which “costs” of reproduction are expressed (Shine, 1980). In squamate reptiles, many examples of such effects have been documented, where non-gravid females and/or males showed higher survival rates than gravid females (Shine, 1980; Andren, 1982, 1985; Madsen, 1987). For instance...
