...sigh! Fat Boy? or Gravid Gal?

If she is no longer shaped like a loaf of bread; round on top and flat on the bottom she is probably gravid. When she runs over your hand her underside will be far squishier than usual. Has she shed yet? Once she does then the laying count down begins. Of course, not all snakes read the manual. I've had females that lay before the shed. Good Luck and keep us posted.
Terri

I'm so addicted to these stories. It was really cool reading now all in one go because you started off calling him a he and ended up with calling her a she. I can't think of a lovelier way to find out he is a girl and about to be a mommy. I can't wait to see how this ends up. Please keep us all posted.

BTW you people are awesome. I never read without learning something cool. The value of shared experience can't be underestimated. very cool.

Congrats on the surprise pregnant female! :0)

i saw a video of sexing on youtube once... is that not an option? they sexed in two ways, one of probing, but the other was rolling back from the tail till the "penes" popped out if it was a male, or somethign else in a female. Is that not an option?

Congrats, from everything I've read you have a gravid female on your hands.
As for sexing, not advisable at this stage of proceedings.

Ciao

Originally Posted by chia44

i saw a video of sexing on youtube once... is that not an option? they sexed in two ways, one of probing, but the other was rolling back from the tail till the "penes" popped out if it was a male, or somethign else in a female. Is that not an option?

Thankx for your comment Chia, but no... as I said earlier, the 1 Vet we have here that "LISTS" reptile health in their ad, I have past experience with and I would not trust them to trim my dogs nails! LOL kinda, but seriously..IDIOTS!

And from all I have read... "Popping" is ONLY recomended for jouveniles...But even if it wasn't, I don't think I would take the chance on my first try at it on what could be a "Female" with her first clutch developing... Just doesn't sound like a good idea...

But I still THANK YOU for responding... As someone above you in this thread mentioned... It is truly amazing how MANY people there is here that are willing to help and share opinions and ideas and experience with those of us who need it most! Believe me when I say how MUCH I both treasure and appriciate each of you!!!!

And now... The "Latest Update"...
Hubby came home last night & decided since our female stripe has shed and is also refusing food and going NUTS in her tank... We should try one last time joining her and "Whytsnake". His logic being, we KNOW the female stripe has just come into season, so if Whytsnake goes for her... Then HE is a HE... And if not... It is one step closer to proving HE is a SHE! lmao! So we did... For about 2 hours... Katchy (female) rubbed on, dug under & slipped over Whytsnake... Whytsnakes reaction? MAJOR TWITCHING while hiding "HER" nose in the corner, running away from Katchy & attempting to TUNNEL beneath the tank! LMAO!!! Eventually, Katchy gave up and they EACH went their seperate corners!
SUMATION: Katchy is horny!!! Whytsnake is.... well, I SAY FEMALE... Sean shrugged and said... "Maybe it is a She, guess we will know if "She/He" lays eggs huh."

I know he is the old pro, but it has been OVER 15 yrs since he was actively breeding snakes, and to this day, when he talks about those days, he talks all about "Big Momma" the Albino Python, birthing 50 babies.. And his Kingsnakes... And very little about the joint effort he was apart of in the "Sunglow Corn" thing...Other than his female laying eggs late one night... Him figuring he would wait for them to harden up before removing them, going to bed and waking up to NO EGGS...She had ATE THEM! lmao And even he admits... As far as his Corns went... They came to him sexed, so there was never any doubt who was who... Me, however, having little to no "snake" breeding experience, and having come here to people I consider "EXPERTS"... Am agreeing with the concensus!! No doubts left in my mind!!!

So... to me the only question left is... Did those eggs get fertilized!!! I would like to believe that since our only MALE at this point "OBEE1" (aka OH-BAMA) has shared Whytsnakes tank off and on for the last 2 months... That it HAS happened, you know like at night when we are sleeping?
Sean tells me that if fertilation does NOT take place...The female will eventually "absorb" the eggs back into her system... And logic tells me, that because of the SIZE of Whytsnakes lower half...(HUGE) fertilization most likely happened, as THAT is A LOT for a female to re=absorb!!
Your thoughts?

Snakes will lay infertile clutches - I know I've gotten a few trying to give my ladies a break :P
But I don't think they'll lay their FIRST clutch unless bred?
Anyway, if Whitey has been with a male in the last 2 months, yeah, good chance her eggs are fertilized.

Originally Posted by Silvergrin

Snakes will lay infertile clutches - I know I've gotten a few trying to give my ladies a break :P
But I don't think they'll lay their FIRST clutch unless bred?
Anyway, if Whitey has been with a male in the last 2 months, yeah, good chance her eggs are fertilized.

I have a Charcoal that was given to me as a "male" that would not eat. I got it home, thawed a pink, tossed it in the little guy's cup and presto he ate. I offered to bring the animal back to the owner because obviously it ate just fine but he didn't want it. So 3 years later having never bother to sex it because I wasn't using it in any breeding projects she lays eggs. Eleven large infertile eggs. Man I was bent! All that wasted effort on her part. Given her determination to reproduce I'll breed her this year. I've also had females produce fertile eggs having not been bred since a fall hook-up. That's easily 8 month old sperm! Like I said before, they don't all follow the rules.
Terri

Originally Posted by sierraherps

Hey Eli?? Are you suggesting that she would feel better about "Laying her eggs" if she had more privacy? I'm sorry, It just dawned on me that might have been what you meant... and not that you were telling me she needed a hide... You know when I first put that in there... She went RIGHT to it and DUG tunnels through it for about 45 minutes! It was cute as hell to watch, as she plowed the warm wet sustrate from one side to the other and then dug down into it with her nose... Is that behavior indicitive to Gravid females by the way?? I know in the wild they look for "Natural compost" kind of places... Under rotting leaves and such as they generate warmth... OMG!! So that behavior actualy could be another clue to her sex!!! right?? MAN! I wish either "SHE" would lay eggs... or "HE" would show interest in one of our "PROVEN" females!
AAAHHHHRRRRGGG!
LOL

Yeah, I was meaning to lay eggs in. Unfortunately the tunneling is done by both boys and girls.