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One lonely egg.. double clutch question.

darksidemike

darksidemike

Small Time Breeder
So I have a female who had her pre lay shed on june 10th, and today(june 17th) I found just a single egg in her tub. There's definitely more in her and i'm not too worried that the rest are coming soon, I just find it weird that she had one drop a day or two earlier than the others. Is this more common than I realize?

Another question I have is if she's around 700 grams, is it safe to say I can reintroduce her to the male after she has her post lay shed and try for a double clutch or is it never recommended to entice a double clutch?

Thanks for any help and suggestions.
 
It isn't common for a single egg to be laid and the rest not follow by the end of the day. By two days, I would check to make sure there isn't an issue.
As for double clutching, I don't encourage it. You've got a big girl, but their bodies can take a beating with the second clutch. Some of mine double clutch every year, whether a male is reintroduced or not, usually many eggs will still be fertile. I wish I knew how to make them not do that, but a second clutch of slugs is easier on the mama.
 
Thanks! She's actually in the laybox with a clutch under her right now. just waiting for her to get out so I can see what we're dealing with this year. First time she lays in her actual lay box too! haha. even that solo egg she layed this morning was in the aspen and for the first time I actually took all bedding out except for moist moss in the laybox and voila she finally used her laybox. I should've done that last time too. I'm still fairly new to the breeding aspect.
So if she doesn't come out would you say remove her to pull the eggs in a couple of days or so?
 
Well, it's been two days now and she hadn't left her laybox so I decided to inspect the situation. She laid eleven eggs so far, but still has some inside her (I think I can feel another 8!), problem is the next one to come out feels bigger than the rest and it's still 5 inches from her vent..

Is my girl egg bound?
 
been about two days since she started laying.. but she did only start 7 days after shedding.. am I looking at a trip to the vet?
 
she's still hanging out in the laybox all the time but at this point i'm worried. should I try to palpate it out soon?
 
already booked an appointment with the best reptile vet in my area but the soonest was for monday afternoon. How long can they go being eggbound without major damage taking place?
 
Roughly 3-4 weeks is my guess, based on what a vet told a friend of mine with a snake with a retained egg that never came out. The sooner the vet sees the snake, the easier it is to intervene, and the less likely it is to require surgery.

Does it look huge? You _might_ want to see if you can gently, very gently, move it back up a tiny bit, and then back down, a couple times, to see if you can get it moving. Some people are good at palpating them right out, I am not one of them. I wouldn't try it without seeing a vet do it. At this point, if you have to wait, I'd get her out and moving around a little, let her get a drink, maybe let her have a swim in room temp water.

I'd also call the vet and say you believe the snake is egg bound and you don't want her to prolapse from straining to lay if the egg is truly stuck, and you are scared for her health if she has to wait four more days. If the receptionist blows you off, ask to speak to the vet for reassurance that her life isn't in danger by such a long delay.
 
I think I'd be afraid to try much by myself since it is still so far from the vent. I do like Nancy's idea of getting the snake moving around a little bit. I hope everything turns out ok!
 
It's really pretty easy to manipulate eggs. Getting them *out* is another matter, but you can usually move them up and down easily, and sometimes they pass after some manipulation (hard to say it's because of the manipulation, though). Once they start to go bad inside her and harden, they are very difficult for her to pass, can no longer be aspirated, and need to be squeezed out or surgically removed. Personally, my survival rate has been higher by a margin by squeezing the eggs out, but I'm not comfortable to do that myself, and have an very experienced old friend to help me when that happens. Also, I have never bred a snake that has egg bound again, personally. At very least I would give her a season off next year.
For what it's worth, I have been using calcium dust and an "exercise" tank for females I am going to breed this year and last and have had no incidences of dystocia since. Again, this is hardly evidence that exercise and increased calcium help, but I plan to continue to do this.
 
Sometimes you don't get to choose whether the snake lays again. A friend of mine had a snake who required surgery after an oviduct prolapse. His intention was to never breed her again, although the vet was confident that the surgery was successful and the snake could safely resume breeding. So she goes and double clutches, anyway! Fortunately, without incident...
 
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