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Well our female isn't a female...

Flea886

Flea886

New member
We have a bloodred female (ragnaros) we know for sure is a female and we have a stripe/cubed (chromie) that was believed to be female. We checked her (popped and probe) and come to find out she is a he. How do we know this you may ask? They were caught in the act tonight!! :: no evil:: We we are worried about Rag being plumped enough to handle being gravid.

I know this may sound silly and noobish so please don't judge, do snakes know when they are ready to breed? I have been researching since we saw them. I guess it's a blessing in disguise and it's like finding out you're pregnant and not being ready. So please no judgment just help and tips is what is needed.

P.S. sorry for any typos. I'm on my phone.
 
Well congratulations...I think. I'm too much of a noob to be of any help to your questions but I didn't see the weight of Ragnaros. Did you post it somewhere? I know they talk about the weight of the female when discussing readiness to breed. You might want to post her weight. Love her name by the way.
 
No..do not have her weight. Need to get a scale and/or bring her to the vet. It's not a bad thing. We're very happy just not prepared.
 
You've learned one of the reasons against housing unproven corns together. How old is your snake? Things can go wrong for her if she is too small. Just because a female is willing/technically capable of breeding doesn't mean it is healthy for her. For example, I was technically fertile shortly after my 11th birthday. That doesn't mean it would have been healthy for me to pop out a baby.

Please make sure you have a reptile vet in your area that is knowledgeable regarding egg binding.
 
She's 3ft and about 3yrs just not sure on weight. Yes we have a very good reptile vet in our area thst we are bringing her to this week.
 
She probably will be fine, but I would separate them as soon as possible. The male may continue to harass her for breeding, and you really don't want her to have any extra stress if she is gravid.

The minimum that is considered safe for breeding is 3 years old, 3 feet long, and 300 grams.
 
I would consider weight (muscle weight) to be far more important than age or length. That is my opinion. And for her sake, separate them!!!!
The saddest thing I ever saw was a female corn snake that had been housed with a male, when we picked them up off Craigslist she had been bred and harassed so much that her cloacal scale was scabbed and she kept bleeding. She laid twelve eggs the same week that we had gotten them.
 
I think it's safe to assume that she will be laying a clutch. It's time to separate the pair (for good) and prepare to be parents. I have a few stickies down in my personal forum on this site dealing with gravid females, preparing the lay box, etc., but it sure wouldn't hurt to buy Kathy Love's book, and Don Soderberg's book, and read up about egg-laying.

And no, snakes do not know when it is "safe" to breed. I purchased a pair of snakes as yearlings once, and found out that they had been housed together, and the female was gravid. She weighed 80 grams...A typical clutch of cornsnake eggs weighs 150 grams.

It's probably a good idea to buy a scale so you can keep tabs on your female's progress.

It's not unheard of for a supposed female to actually turn out to be a male. It's happened to me three times, all with snakes from prominent, experienced breeders. This is why is benefits a person to know how to sex snakes herself, so the sex can be verified immediately.
 
Thank you nanci and I will be looking at your forum. I checked her this morning and did not feel any eggs so I can only assume that means it was probably the first time they mated.
 
The first time you caught her!

It took me a several years and many females to get good at feeling eggs. You not being able to feel them doesn't mean they aren't forming.

Since you _want_ the clutch, you can continue to breed her, if she agrees. But you still need to separate them. If you continue to breed, put the pair together in an empty plastic bin, every 2-3 days, for 4-5 more times, or until she refuses to breed twice in a row. If she is going to consent, she generally will within 15-30 minutes of being introduced to the male. No need to leave them together for hours.

Think about what you are going to do with 12-24 babies, though. Will you be able to care for them (all in separate containers!) until you find homes? If you aren't really ready, if you separate them now, _maybe_ you'll get lucky and she isn't gravid. But it never works that way.
 
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