• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Newly acquired female passing small hard infertile eggs.

DuxorW

DuxorW

Derailer of Threads
The redcoat lava I recently acquired just laid 2 very small infertile eggs. The previous owner said she has never been with a male or layed a clutch of slugs. I palpated her to feel for more, but didn't feel anything. The photo below will give you an idea of how small they were and how long they had to have been in there. This female is 6 years old. I guess my question is should I take her to a vet if she isn't showing signs of being unwell? She has refused food in my care but now that she has passed these eggs I will offer again, unless that is a bad idea? Just not sure how to know if she is finished, since they are so small.

 
Last edited:
Still refused food, although she is in MUCH better spirits and has stopped trying to kill me. Time for a vet trip?
 
I wouldn't bother taking her to the vet just yet. I have seen this from females before and if you don't feel anymore she should be just fine.
John
 
I guess I am just worried because she is still refusing food. I couldn't feel any eggs yet she laid another small one, so I don't trust my own judgment. They are very small relative to her size. When do you think I should start to be concerned?
 
I would wait a week before trying to feed again, she may have a couple more in there. She also maybe wanting to shed after passing these so if she doesn't eat next week not the end of the world. Don (SMR) always called these "Mummified eggs".
I would start to worry if in a couple weeks she doesn't eat or eats and doesn't poop.
John
 
Thanks John. The previous owner states she ate about a week before being shipped to me. I gave her a lay box after the first egg but she did not take up residence in it, but I have left it there. I'll give her another week to feed. The most recent egg actually wasn't very hard, so hopefully if there are any others they are soft, too.
 
I agree with John. Some females insist on laying even without being bred. Others hang on to a few eggs for a year before "blowing out the system" in preparation for the new season. If she is in good form in every other way, give her time to shed and regroup before entering panic mode. Passing feces and/or urates is also a positive sign. So keep an eye out for them.
Good luck!
Terri
 
Thanks Terri.

She shed 3 weeks before I got her and then shed a week after I had her (so twice in one month) and laid eggs several days later, so I'm not sure how soon I can expect her to shed again. She did defecate when she passed the first two eggs so I'm assuming she can't be *too* backed up. She had some discharge from her cloaca this morning and I was worried I had managed to rupture one of her retained eggs, but based on the odor I think she was just musking me.
 
My cali kingsnake does that ALL THE TIME. I'm not even surprised when I find those any more. Several other virgin and non-virgin females do as well. I've never worried about it. They look like amber to me and I have a hard time throwing them away.
 
Nanci, do your snakes tend to refuse food for awhile when this happens? It has been close to a month since she has eaten. I'm not worried about her going of food per se, just whether or not that is signaling that something is wrong. I have an acquaintance that had a virgin lavender corn that had retained these little mummy eggs. They fused to her internal organs and she had to be put down. My mind always jumps to the worst case scenario...
 
My females that are ovulating, with egg bumps that you can feel, refuse feeds. Sometimes I will find an infertile clutch and think- oh, that's why you didn't eat. I've never had a problem, YET, with eggs that fused. I know (anecdotally, from other people's snakes) there is a danger of this happening, the longer eggs remain unlaid.
 
Ok. My game plan is to leave her alone a week and try feeding again, and go from there. Thanks everyone!
 
She has ignored her lay box until today but finally took up residence in it, so maybe she's ready to squeeze out the rest.
 
She has started to lay, I checked in on her and found 9, so am gonna leave her alone. Worked myself up over nothing!

 
Yeah, what had me worried is that to me she is on the skinny side. Plus I just bought her! But she seems to be having no problem laying. 13 so far. I can't believe I couldn't feel them as she now has visible lumps. They actually looked fertile and there was a small possibility as she had been with a male redcoat lava for a few hours when her previous owner was moving. But candling showed they were infertile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top