What the heck! Mystery eggs!

[Tula_Montage]

Fetish, my wee 200 gram 2 year old female corn laid 12 perfectly formed slugs! She had been eating perfectly and didn't even look bigger than usual. And shes a lean corn! She has NEVER been bred either. And is obviously far too young to be doing this. I don't know when she laid these, but some look like perfect little eggs, others are clearly slugs. But they simply cannot be fertile. I have found them dried and shriveled. Poor gal though, shes horribly thin and in shed. Eating a smaller than usual mouse at the moment.

What on earth could have caused such a young female corn with no breeding experience to lay a clutch? Could it be a case of travelling hormones from a breeding pair I had this year which may have kick started a cycle for her? Is this something that could continue each year? She was always marked in my books as completely unbreedable due to having a major kink as a baby and feeding issues. Shes my gimpy girl! Not my egg laying mystery machine!

[cornsnakeforsale_com]

I don't know, but looks like she's a breeder after all.

[Susan]

And some of those look like they were fertile eggs, not slugs.

[Asbit]

AS far as I have read the hormones i the air could have been enough to cause her to ovulate and produce eggs, but they should not have been fertile if she was never bred. Diamonlil/Janine has one that used to be bred and since the snake used to lay it now continues to lay every year inspite of no longer being bred.

I also have a girl at the vet right now recoverying from surgery for eggbinding due to incomplete reabsorption of eggs she created without having been bred this year. She was cohabbed previously to my owning her and did lay 5 slugs when very small last year but this year was not bred and was not even in the same room as males older than 10mths. If you want to read the thread her it is. http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101595 Here is hoping she will not continue to make eggs each year.:shrugs:

[Tula_Montage]

I don't understand why such a tiny female who has never been in contact with another snake in her life would do this. And regardless of her ability to produce eggs, I would never purposefully breed her due to the issues she had as baby. Shes a weak parent genetically, in my opinion.

[diamondlil]

AS far as I have read the hormones i the air could have been enough to cause her to ovulate and produce eggs, but they should not have been fertile if she was never bred. Diamonlil/Janine has one that used to be bred and since the snake used to lay it now continues to lay every year inspite of no longer being bred.

I don't have any ex-breeders that lay every year, I think you must have mixed me up with someone else.
How's Fetish doing, Elle?

[Lolo]

I can't offer scientific advice, but when I adopted my girl Coraline (off Craigslist), they told me she laid infertile eggs the previous year - and she was never bred, in fact they only had the one snake. So I guess it's not that uncommon! Then I tried breeding her this year, and still haven't seen any eggs... weird. :shrugs:

[Tula_Montage]

I don't have any ex-breeders that lay every year, I think you must have mixed me up with someone else.
How's Fetish doing, Elle?

Shes ok. Just digesting her meal. Fiesty as ever and drinking lots. I'm just so so confused!

[Tula_Montage]

Oh and those eggs were half the size of the eggs in my other clutch! If they were fertile, I'd be worried about the size of the babies inside!

[El Jefe]

Although rare, parthenogenesis has been observed in snakes.

[Asbit]

Sorry Janine I must have had you mixed up with someone else, I had thought it was you that had the ex-breeder who still lays. My apologies.

[Nanci]

I have a 2008 251g female that is bulging with infertile eggs right now. I gave her a lay box tonight, after she refused her mouse last night...No, she has never been bred, but she's lived next door to the three mommy snakes all spring.

[Caryl]

Goodness! This is one of those cases where it seems nature wasn't making any sense at all. I hope she recovers quickly for you, Elle. (And hello! We haven't been on the same thread in a while. Good to hear from you even if the cause is strange. :-) )

[vetusvates]

Very weird, Elle.

[SnakeAround]

I had a 2 year old (close to 300 grams) AND a 4 year old 550 gram virgin lay slugs this year... They both had been with the same non proven adult female temporarily (though not at the same time), so I had that one probed when the opportunity rose and she really is a female and the egg layers were indeed still virgins beyond doubt. Some of the eggs of the '05 female looked quite good but they did 'die' after a couple of days... because then I still assumed that the third snake involved was a male instead of a female, I did not bother to check their fertility status, I thought they were goners because the temp had been a little high for a couple of days. Could have been parthenogenesis...

[SnakeAround]

(the '05 female was an '06 actually, typo)

[Tula_Montage]

Hmmm, that makes sense considering she was cohabited with other snakes (if thats right from what I have gathered). Fetish is an 08... and has never seen another snake in her life... apart from clutch mates in the first few days of course. I just hope she doesn't do this every year! Poor girl has taken a good knock to her body, and I'm now concerned that her grown will forevermore be stunted.

[SnakeAround]

The female that laid a slug in her 2nd year has grown after wards, she is still not very large but weighs a safer 350 grams now. They will grow afterward :)