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Could my new girl be gravid?

G

GoRabbitGo

New member
I purchased a subadult female corn on May 22nd. She's about 2 1/2 years old, just short of three feet and on the thin side of healthy when i brought her home.
She was at the shop for at least 2 weeks before i bought her and was dropped off by an owner who had purchased her, co-habbed her with a male for a while, and then brought her back because she was "aggressive." His loss, my gain!

It's been almost a month since she's been with me and she's eaten once since i brought her home. I offer food twice a week and she's curious but just not hungry. Her temps are solid, she's in an Exoterra large/wide with UTH and she's usually on the cool side of her tank. She's not losing weight so i'm not worried, and she actually looks *thicker* than she did. Like, visibly fat from the middle of her body to her vent. I did a little gentle feeling around her abdomen and i think i felt a lump or two.

It seems like it's been way too long since she's been anywhere near a male, though. Should i set up a lay box just in case?
What's the longest you've seen a female go between being with a male and laying?
 
I am no expert, but yeah, it sounds like she may have eggs in there. A lay box could not hurt.
I bet the 'aggressive' behavior was a stressed snake being pestered by the male. She probably wanted out and to be left alone.
 
Have you tried offering smaller than normal prey items?

And wouldn't a vet visit to confirm that she doesn't have some sort of parasite or illness be a good idea?
 
Definitely get a lay box in there for her right away. I went through the same thing but I didn't know she was gravid, when I finally figured it out and gave her the box, she went in, laid 12 slugs and died. I wish I had known.

And my other girl laid 8 slugs (which is what made me realize what was going on) and has never been with a male, she is 2 1/2 also, but there are males in the room also. Pheromones may play a part, but I am not positive. Better safe than sorry.
 
I generally offer smaller-than-normal prey items to all of my corns, and i feed more prey items and/or more often. My adult corns get a small fuzz rat, and if that's a no-go i'll try a hopper or large fuzzy mouse.

The "aggressive" behavior turned out to be a weird quirk that she has. She opens her mouth slightly when she's really excited, like when she's out being handled in a new place. It's not resp, she has been checked (which also rules out parasites). She doesn't coil or strike, either, and she closes her mouth when i touch her face or head. I think she did have resp at one point and this is a lasting behavior.
I'll give her a lay box tomorrow. If she's not gravid, then i guess it can be a humid hide!

Thanks for your responses.
 
What an interesting behavior! Maybe she thinks it's even better than tongue flicking for scent. And/or maybe it had some unknown benefit to her in her relationship with her former owner(s), so the behavior continues. I love behavioral stuff. It's fascinating.

Would it be weird to ask for a pic of that behavior in action?

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
 
I wonder if she does it because she has some sort of lung deficiency, and when she is out and excited, she becomes short of breath, and has to open her mouth to get enough air in. Like a RI, but without the infection.

Did a vet listen to her lung??
 
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