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Nagah11979

Nagah11979

corn junkie
Hi everyone,

I thought for sure my blizzard female was gravid. I bred her three times to the same male, she was eating like a horse, then two weeks ago she stopped eating and on tuesday she had was what I thought would be her prelay shed...but now she looks skinny (compared to what she used to be) and is very active around the enclosure, besides the fact that I have a nest box in there. I thought she had laid her eggs already and I searched for eggs but found none. I don't know if I should wait another week or try to breed her again.

Any thoughts?
 
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I can't answer you about her getting skinny but all the other signs sound like she should be laying her eggs soon.
My females seem to get very active for a few days before they lay there eggs.
 
Thanks for the reply Steve,

That makes me feel better, I'll wait and hopefully she'll lay with no problem. Although I swear somehow she looks like she has lost weight the past week.
 
LoL, I know how you feel. My female did that to me last year. First I swore she was gravid, but then she had her "pre-lay" shed and she looked considerably skinnier. It really kept me tied in knots as to what to think or do. =P

But she went on to lay 13 healthy eggs for me about 6 days post-shed.

I think maybe the fluid in the oviduct that surrounded the eggs probably gets absorbed, and the eggs all line up ready for deposition. I'm not the most well read on snake physiology by any means, but thats the way I made sense of it when my female did the same thing last year.

I have pictures of her when I thought she was gravid, and then not, and then her with eggs. So I'd give her another week to figure it out and if no eggs, I'd try and rebreed her possibly.

Keep us posted for sure. =P

P.S.
Have you tried the trick Kathy Love mentions in her book to count the eggs? You can lay her on a flat surface like a table top or the floor, and lay one hand under her and gently press your thumb on her back so you compress her between your index finger and thumb. Then let her slither through your fingers and you *should* be able to feel what feels like beads on a string run by. It works great for counting eggs or even feeling for any.
 
I know how frustrating all of this can be! One of my females, the big amel I post about sometimes, she swelled up and then appeared normal skinny again right before her supposed pre-egg lay shed. I thought maybe she wasn't gravid, and palpating her I couldn't feel anything. But in the last few days she has suddenly bloated up to the point where it is obvious she has eggs, and in fact you can even see them somewhat through her skin (she's an amel) if hte light is right. I palpated her a few days ago and counted at least 20. She had her shed on Manday, April 5, and hasn't laid yet. So about your female, I would do what Taceas recommended and see if you can palpate her, see is you can feel anything. They're pretty obvious, they'll feel like big lumps started about halfway or so down all the way to right before the vent.

Oh yeah, definitely keep the egglaying box in with her just to be safe, and check it a couple times a day or so and hopefully you'll catch her in the act.

Good Luck
Jcam99
 
UPDATE

Thanks for all the advice! I was able to palpatate her a few days ago and I could feel 8-10 lumps in her body. This morning I checked on her at 8:00 and she was laying! I counted around 5 good eggs and 1 slug so far, but she looked like she had more coming. I can't wait to get back home and check on her after school! :D YAY!

Ps: Meanwhile my normal male mated with my snow!
 
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