I have had a corn snake, which I was told was a male, for 3 and 1/2 years. On Mother's Day, LadySnake (f/k/a Jake) laid one egg but proceeded to become egg bound despite my best efforts to create an egg-laying environment for her. I took her to a vet and he gave her an injection of oxytocin, and she finally laid 14 more eggs. She was down for the count and very, very lethargic for the next 3 weeks, but is finally recovering. She has had her post-egg laying shed and she is eating well. All her eggs were slugs because she is a single gal. Is it possible for her to double clutch even though she was not bred? Do female corns lay clutches every year even though they are not bred? May was such a rough month for her, that I would like to be better prepared for any subsequent clutches. I won't breed her - I probably would get too attached to her offspring and keep them all! I just want a happy, healthy snake. Thanks for any tips.
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LadySnake was eggbound; will she double clutch
- Thread starter LadySnake
- Start date
newsnakeowner1978
New member
Females can lay eggs without mating????? uh oh. im not sure if my corn is a female or not. And we dont' have a herp vet around here. she is only a few months yet so lots of time fer s/he becomes mature but would be nice to know if they can lay eggs without mating.
dawnrenee2000
Contributing Member
yes, they can lay eggs without any breeding so the eggs are unfertilized or what we call slugs. they are yellowish , generally round, and have a wet type coat instead of leathery dry one.
I am glad you posted here to inquire on the situation for your animals well being. Sometimes they do just go into an ovulation and create slugs without any breeding to fertilize them. You have done nothing wrong to cause this, nor can you avoid it in the future. However it is unlikely that she will double clutch. I reccomend giving her some smaller meals just several days apart for the next week or two and if she is too lethargic, then take her to the water bowl and put her head to it so she will drink some extra water. They do actually bounce back rather quickly and many snakes go through this, but as her keeper by doing these things you can certainly help her bounce back more quickly.
Best wishes to you and LadySnake.
I am glad you posted here to inquire on the situation for your animals well being. Sometimes they do just go into an ovulation and create slugs without any breeding to fertilize them. You have done nothing wrong to cause this, nor can you avoid it in the future. However it is unlikely that she will double clutch. I reccomend giving her some smaller meals just several days apart for the next week or two and if she is too lethargic, then take her to the water bowl and put her head to it so she will drink some extra water. They do actually bounce back rather quickly and many snakes go through this, but as her keeper by doing these things you can certainly help her bounce back more quickly.
Best wishes to you and LadySnake.
newsnakeowner1978
New member
I never knew that before. Will i will not be breeding my snake but if it is a female and she i sees she is gonna start laying eggs what do i do. i know its a few years away but i like to have everyting written down in my notes for reference. so if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
If you think yours is going to lay a clutch of infertile eggs, just give her a laying box and leave her to it.
A laying box will be the same as a humid hide, that you'd give them if they needed help shedding.
A plastic box, about a third filled with a damp medium like moss, vermiculite or even paper towel at a pinch. Cut a snake-sized hole in the lid, pop the lid on and put it in the tank.
I usually put it at the cool or mid-range of the tank; a couple of my females can sometimes settle into the laying box a week or two ahead of laying, and I'm not sure it would be good for them to spend that length of time in the warmest area.
If she's going to lay, she will most likely choose to lay in the box as it mimics the sort of spot they'd look for in the wild - damp and hidden away.
Edited to add:
Following on from what Dawn said, if they're looking fragile after egglaying, sometimes getting them to drink can be a real pick-you-up for them.
If she won't drink from a bowl, just wet your fingers (make sure you've rinsed any soap etc off your hands first) and drip some water gently onto the end of her snout - you'll probably find that she sucks it up and looks for more. If she's still in her laying box, you can then dribble some onto the floor in front of her.
I did that for one of mine earlier this week. It took about 15 minutes of drip drinking, but then she lifted her head and started to look around - when I put her snout into the drinking water bowl, she then took a really deep drink and was much perkier. She ate a small moue immediately afterwards, which was a huge relief.
A laying box will be the same as a humid hide, that you'd give them if they needed help shedding.
A plastic box, about a third filled with a damp medium like moss, vermiculite or even paper towel at a pinch. Cut a snake-sized hole in the lid, pop the lid on and put it in the tank.
I usually put it at the cool or mid-range of the tank; a couple of my females can sometimes settle into the laying box a week or two ahead of laying, and I'm not sure it would be good for them to spend that length of time in the warmest area.
If she's going to lay, she will most likely choose to lay in the box as it mimics the sort of spot they'd look for in the wild - damp and hidden away.
Edited to add:
Following on from what Dawn said, if they're looking fragile after egglaying, sometimes getting them to drink can be a real pick-you-up for them.
If she won't drink from a bowl, just wet your fingers (make sure you've rinsed any soap etc off your hands first) and drip some water gently onto the end of her snout - you'll probably find that she sucks it up and looks for more. If she's still in her laying box, you can then dribble some onto the floor in front of her.
I did that for one of mine earlier this week. It took about 15 minutes of drip drinking, but then she lifted her head and started to look around - when I put her snout into the drinking water bowl, she then took a really deep drink and was much perkier. She ate a small moue immediately afterwards, which was a huge relief.
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
From what I can gather, keeping LadySnake on the lean side will help too. If you give her more exercise and space her meals out, she'll be less likely to be eggbound in the future, and may well not use resources on producing slugs
newsnakeowner1978
New member
Tks Bitsy. I will add that to my notes. never knew they could lay eggs without mating before. good to know. tks again.
newsnakeowner1978
New member
also to..... do all females lay slugs when they reach sexual maturaty without mating or just some females.
dawnrenee2000
Contributing Member
just some of them.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
Also, the older ones can go on laying infertile eggs, even when they never see a male any more and you'd rather they stopped for the sake of their own health.
My 14 year old Snow is well past the point where I tried to retire her from breeding, but a few days ago produced a clutch of 29 (twenty-nine!!!) infertile eggs, despite not having sniffed a male for two years. Granted they're smaller than fertile eggs, but it still really knocks the stuffing out of her and it takes a couple of months for her to recover.
My 14 year old Snow is well past the point where I tried to retire her from breeding, but a few days ago produced a clutch of 29 (twenty-nine!!!) infertile eggs, despite not having sniffed a male for two years. Granted they're smaller than fertile eggs, but it still really knocks the stuffing out of her and it takes a couple of months for her to recover.
dwilliamsmms
New member
I also think it's doubtful that your female will double clutch, but it could be possible for her to do this again next year.
I have a 4 year old female who was bred in March 06. She laid 21 fertile eggs and then double clutched at the beginning of July without being introduced to a male again. Six of the 17 eggs looked good, but all spoiled before hatching.
Right now, she's refused food for 3 weeks, looks big, and I'm pretty sure I feel eggs in her again without being near a male since March 06. I'm afraid she may be one of those females who regularly lay each year. I'm getting a lay box prepared just in case.
I have a 4 year old female who was bred in March 06. She laid 21 fertile eggs and then double clutched at the beginning of July without being introduced to a male again. Six of the 17 eggs looked good, but all spoiled before hatching.
Right now, she's refused food for 3 weeks, looks big, and I'm pretty sure I feel eggs in her again without being near a male since March 06. I'm afraid she may be one of those females who regularly lay each year. I'm getting a lay box prepared just in case.
newsnakeowner1978
New member
dawnrenee2000 said:
cool. tks.
newsnakeowner1978
New member
bitsy said:
HOLY CRAP. so can they lay eggs even if they never EVER been near a male. My baby is only bout 4 months old and i only have 1 snake and thats all i will ever own at a time so there will never be a chance s/he will be near a male. and i dont' even know the sex of anubis but jsut wanna be prepared. lol yea i know i over think things to much. lol
MegF.
That's for sale???
Just because they can, doesn't mean they will Newsnakeowner. So relax!! 
Regular exercise should help to keep muscles toned and make egg laying easier. I make sure my gravid females are out regularly for short periods. I would definitely use caution if you ever do breed, as slugs are generally easier to lay than fertile eggs. If she's having trouble passing slugs, she certainly would have more with good ones. I'm glad she's doing fine though and now that you know, you can at least be prepared. She might never lay another clutch again, but you never know.
Regular exercise should help to keep muscles toned and make egg laying easier. I make sure my gravid females are out regularly for short periods. I would definitely use caution if you ever do breed, as slugs are generally easier to lay than fertile eggs. If she's having trouble passing slugs, she certainly would have more with good ones. I'm glad she's doing fine though and now that you know, you can at least be prepared. She might never lay another clutch again, but you never know.
Nanci
Alien Lover
He's actually very happy! He builds his nest, coos for a mate, I lay eggs, he sits on the eggs very diligently. After three weeks, he stops sitting, and I remove the eggs, and in a few days he builds a nest in a different area. Maybe I shouldn't have named him Milly- but I was hoping he was a female! (Pigeons love nesting so much that that is how pigeon breeders do birth control- by removing real eggs and putting in fake eggs. They just never give up on wanting to nest, constantly.)
Nanci
Nanci