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WTF IS this?!

Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z)

Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z)

Zookeeper
Help me out, please. I'm kinda freaking....

We found this.... THING.... in Niamh's habitat tonight. It's 2" long, and looks like a little butter fingerling potato. Needless to say, it's not a potato. It also doesn't look like any poop I've ever seen. I shone a light through it, and it is clear with a couple of wavy lines INSIDE. On the outside, it's rather hard, and the surface is somewhat rough.

Is it an egg? If so, why here, why now? She's never been exposed to a male in THIS house....

IF it's an egg, does it look any good? If it does, what am I supposed to do with it?

Also, could this thing be why she hasn't eaten since before we went on vacation? She's refused 2 meals so far. What do I do?

Any help would be appreciated.

wtfisthis1a.jpg
 
That's a slug/unfertilized egg. I'd give her a lay box asap so she can lay the rest of them in an enviornment more comfortable for her.
 
Wonderful....

I've never had a snake before the past 2 months, so now I have to figure out how to do a lay box, and where to get the supplies tonight. I'll check the husbandry and breeding sections....

Why, though, would she lay an egg/eggs? We haven't bred her.
 
Some snakes will still produce and mature follicles even though they were never bred. Think of it as a false pregnancy, something that a lot of mammals can go through.
 
She was bred before I got her, and produced a small clutch with 1/2 of the eggs bad. I believe her previous owner sold her because she probably isn't going to be a "big producer", and I wanted a pet, not a breeder. That was about 2-ish months ago. I don't know how many, if any, have hatched. Could she be pregnant from that mating?

She shed while we were on vacation (May 18-16). We found the skin in her habitat the night we returned.

Also, could this be why she hasn't eaten in about 2-3 weeks? If so, when will she eat again, and how can I encourage her to do so, short of providing live food? We bought some half grown mice (she's been eating full grown mice), but so far, she's turning her nose up at them, too.

Yeah, I'm worried. See why I don't breed creatures? *grins*
 
If she was bred earlier this season, this is probably her second clutch then. Females can indeed double clutch from the single mating so some of the eggs may even end up being fertile.

And yes, that is probably why she refused a couple meals. She'll eat again after she lays her eggs.
 
Thank you for your help! We now have a plastic box with lid, filled with moist moss, and a hole cut in the side. She rushed into it and is now curled up inside. Hopefully, she'll deposit some eggs and be done with it.

Just out of curiosity, IF she lays more, and IF any are good, what do I do with them? I don't have an incubator, and I'm not sure how quickly or if I can find one, but I wouldn't want to throw a good egg away if there was a chance of saving it/them. Everyone loves babies, after all :).

I'll keep reading up. This is rather sudden and unexpected, and I've got to get educated WAY fast.

You are fast proving to be my guiding angel, here :).
 
You can look up home-made incubators. What I'm using is an old mini wine fridge with a pair of small UTHs in it that are hooked up to a thermostat. I also have water bottles in there to help retain and evenly distribute the heat. There's some gaps when the door is closed on the cord, but so far it's maintaining between 79 and 81 degrees.

You can also make them out of styrofoam boxes, basically anything that is meant to either keep in either heat or cold.
 
I agree thats a slug and this is her double clutching... Might not get any fertile ones at all... But if you do, dont worry, all the info you need is right here where you are.. And everyone will be willing to help answer your questions... Good luck.. :)
 
Also, if worse comes to worse- eggs are quite hardy. You can technically put them into a sealed (preferably clear) tupperware/gladware with damp moss and keep it heated to around 80 and do not let condensation build up on the eggs. You can do an exchange of air every 7 days or so and the eggs are just fine. They do not need much oxygen. I know many people that use this method solely, so it might be your best option this late in the game.
 
Thanks, guys. I really appreciate all the help I'm getting from you all.

Niamh is curled up in her lay box at the moment. I don't know if she's laid any more eggs. I'll take a look when she comes out, I guess.

Tara, your suggestion for how to keep the eggs is a good one. If Z can't come up with anything more precise in time, and we have a good egg or two, we may well use that method.
 
Well thats a supprise! lol...silly girl. You've gotten alot of good advice, I just wanted to point something out...it sounds heartless, but just because you have eggs, doesn't mean you HAVE to hatch them. If you're not so comfortable with the situation, or dont want to rear the hatchlings (if you got good eggs and they hatched) you could simply...not hatch them. If you do choose to not continue this clutch, simply freeze the eggs. Presto- no more issue.
Just putting it out there. Its totally fine to do that, if you want to. Its also perfectly ok for you to hatch them also. It may not be an issue at all, as this girl doesn't sound like she gives much at the best...but who knows? maybe she's saving the best for last! Either way, I hope for updates on momma-snake!
 
Yep, she's double clutching on her own. Most likely they will all be slugs. There is a chance though, she might lay a couple of good ones. I have several females that do this. Make sure she has plenty of fresh water and try not to disturb her.

As far as an incubator, it's not really necessary to have one. If you have a spot in your house that the temp stays above 70 and below around 87, a plastic tote and some moss, you can incubate.

Good luck! :)
 
Thanks! I'm really curious, now, if anything else she might lay might be good. If there is a good egg, I'll try to raise it, if possible, for I remember the beautiful snake she was bred with before she was sold. A pretty baby from that pairing would be nice :).

Still 'n' all, if all I get is slugs, that's ok by me, too. Just so long as she finishes the laying process (how long should that take?) and starts eating again, soon!
 
I hope your house has that warm spot. :p Mine's consistently 68 degrees so I had to go and kludge an incubator together.
 
Whoa. Your house is 68 degrees? That's cold!

Until July-September, I have a cool spot in the guest bathroom on the floor beside the toilet that stays 78-80. I'm incubating my eggs this year by putting them in a small tupperware inside a larger one. The larger one has a little water in the bottom and is sealed. They sit beside the toilet in the cool spot. I open the container when I'm feeling like checking the eggs. Sometimes that's once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Works for me.

I've always incubated using substrateless and incubatorless methods. If I had a house that were too cold, I'd probably use an aquarium heater in a tub, with eggs in the boxes I'm already using, egg boxes floating around on the heated water.
 
I feel your pain. Last summer, after acting strange for several weeks, Isabel my dragon proceeded to lay eggs in my hand. She eventually triple clutched slugs, until I finally got her stopped by cutting back her photo period. And Cherry, my milksnake phase, laid two clutches of slugs with no warning. The second time I had _no idea_ she was going to double clutch, and after her being absent for a couple days when she shouldn't have been, I discovered her curled around her cache of "eggs."
 
Thanks, Nanci. It's good to hear the experiences of knowledgeable people in this area :).

So far, no more eggs, although she spent much of the night and this morning in the lay box. She's out at the moment, and buried underneath it. Z checked the box--no eggs. Is it possible she'll lay just the one slug-egg?

I'm also wondering when I know that she's done? All so new, and I wasn't even going to think about breeding 'til at least next spring, if at all, so no preparations were made in advance.

I hope this has no negative impact on Niamh. She's really a sweet snake, not to mention drop-dead-gorgeous!
 
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