Not laying, not eating.
 

Hello all....
I am worried.

I bought Cordelia as gravid on March 26th.
The previous owner said that he expected her to lay within the week, based on her normal lay schedule.

I gave her a lay box, and tried to feed her about 4 days after getting her, just in case she was hungry. I tried feeding her a f/t hopper. She refused.
A week later, (April 9th) I tried a pinkie. She again refused.

No eggs.

She then went into blue on April 21, then shed on May 6th.
I figured this must be her pre-lay shed.

She still has not laid eggs. Or eaten.
I've tried pinkies and adults, brained and slit.

So today, in desperation, I have left her with some live fuzzies. She is showing no interest.

I no longer feel eggs in her as I did when I first got her. I am aware that this could be a sign of imminent laying, but it has been so long now since her shed that I am doubting it.

She is plenty active, she acts healthy otherwise... she just hasn't eaten or laid eggs.

Vet time?
Did she reabsorb the eggs? (was she ever really gravid?)

I am worried and confused.

What has been happening with her weight?

She is still right at the right time to lay eggs, based on the May 6th shed. Does she have any interest in her lay box?

I have a _bunch_ of your females, two and three year olds, some with palpable ova, some not, who are all refusing. (They have not been bred). It's just something females may do. I wouldn't panic- I certainly wouldn't be offering anything more special than a smaller than normal mouse, FT, if that. Some of mine will go one to several months, the longest having gone six months.

Thanks. You have calmed me down.

She is interested in her lay box. Do you think that she still may lay, then? When should I start to worry about her not laying?

I think I am so worried because she has never eaten for me.
Her weight seems pretty stable. She seems to be slightly skinnier... but the body shape change could be related to being gravid. I am kicking myself for not weighing her when I got her, which is what I normally do- for some reason I didn't. Argh.

Its hard to say but looking back at my records Sunny's last meal before she laid was March 20th, she shed April 5th, laid April 20th, resumed feeding April 21st. Marmalade's last meal was March 21st, she shed April 9th, laid eggs on the 23rd and resumed feeding that same day.
So if you go by their schedule it sounds like your snake will lay in the next week or so if she is indeed still holding eggs. Some snakes just dont follow the books and lay later or earlier than expected. A picture of her would help also, not all coiled up of course but in a sort of straight line-ish lol or S shape, makes it easier to tell if they are gravid if they are not coiled up.
But if in your gut you think something is really wrong then by all means take her to the vet.

Thanks, Rosewood.

After taking some photos of her, I am pretty sure she is going to lay soon.

Here they are:

#1 Full Body Shot. She doesn't look like she is getting thin.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/3a0b1fcf.jpg

#2: Bad pic of her undercarriage. Her scutes have a distinct ridge on the edge, which I read somewhere is indicative of an impending lay?
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/b6604275.jpg

#3: Egg Bumps?
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/47cf71e5.jpg

#4: Possible bulge by vent?
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/aacbe3f9.jpg

She is quite comfortable in her lay box. Hopefully she will lay soon. This is driving me crazy. I guess I am a worried mother!

Something else you can do is set her on the floor and have her crawl gently between your fingers. If you put your thumb on her spine and press gently into her belly starting from about 1/3 of the way down, and she is relaxed, and she crawls through your fingers, you can usually feel eggs. If she isn't relaxed, you won't feel them unless they are huge. She looks puffy to me in the pictures; I would not be surprised if she just hasn't laid yet, but is going to.

I would _not_ attempt to feed her during this time period. You don't want any extra bulk from a meal interfering with her oviduct. After it is obvious she isn't going to lay, say two or three weeks from now, then I would start feeding attempts, but I think that there will be either a clutch or a shed before she shows interest in food again. Your snake is a healthy weight right now- she has a _lot_ of weight to lose before I would worry.

Also, have you replaced her normal water bowl with a smaller water bowl she can't get into and lay?

Yes, she has a little water dish.

Ok, no more feeding attempts. Thanks for reassuring me!

I've had a couple of females take 21 and 22 days past their prelay sheds before laying eggs. One of those clutches looked perfectly healthy and fertile when it was laid, but then every one of the eggs rotted after a few weeks. Not sure if it had anything to do with her waiting so long before laying them, though.

Hmm. That is interesting to know, Wendy.
At this point, I don't care if they are fertile as long as Cordy is healthy.