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Corn full of eggs...help please

H

Hugs & Hisses

New member
We know someone that is trying to sell us a corn snake. She bred last year but not this year. She is full of eggs right now but not been with a male. We can feel 22 eggs inside her. If I get her and put her with a male now can he fertilize the eggs at this point? The person who has her said she needs to be with a male by july 5th. Is this true that he can still fertilize the eggs or would this be a mistake?
 
Without seeing the female in person...

She may have retained sperm from last year and those "eggs" you are feeling are already fertilized eggs waiting to be laid.

Or, she could be full of slugs and will lay them when she is ready.

Or, she could be ovulating, but from here, that is something I personally can not say.

I would say that IF you are really feeling "eggs" and not ovum, than she wont let any male breed her at this point. You should just let her have a lay box and wait and see what she does.

This is just my 2 cents and my thoughts. Good luck with whatever you decide to do with this female. Either way, someone should offer her lay box to be safe.

PJ
 
I think we might go get her just to see what happens. She is pretty swollen and he has had her just short of a month. Maybe we will go get her and give her a lay box and see what happens with her. She is a beautiful blizzard that he wants to trade for a few cresties. We can feel 22 egg shaped lumps up and down her and she is just huge. She really doesnt want to be touched at this point either, she is very much on guard when her lid is opened.
 
I agree with PJ. That female sounds like she is gravid and yes it is possible for them to retain sperm from the previous year, crazy as that is, it's the animal kingdom for you lol. There is no way that female would let a male breed with her at this point and it wouldn't do anything even if they did breed.

The female will be needing a laybox, it is possible that the eggs will be fertile and will need to be incubated, but they could also be slugs as PJ said. If your not sure how to incubate eggs or take care of hatchlings that snake might not be the best one for you to get at this point. But that is totally up to you, let us know what you decide.
 
We have bred corn snakes in the past and know how to do all of that, I had just never headrd of a corn with so many eggs in her and not being with a male for a year.

Thanks so much for the answers. I will keep you updated on what happens.
 
There are several cases on CS.com of females retaining sperm the following years. As well as non breeding females laying clutches of slugs. Nanci has a female that was laying huge clutches of slugs two years in row! (I think it was two years.) It does happen and I bet it is a bit strange.

Good Luck and I am glad she is with someone who knows what to do.
 
I had a female known for laying 2 clutches with 30-35 eggs EACH a year, after one year of being succesfully bred at my place, I skipped her a year, she still laid about 25 slugs that year.
 
SO we went ahead and put a male in wth her and yesterday she layed twenty beautiful eggs. Thy all look great. We think she may have retained sperm, we did wtness a few lock ups between her and the male we put in with her at the lastminute as well.
 
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