Hi everyone. I don't post on here too often since most of my collection consists of Kings and Corns, but Indigos are my favorite, and I have had a pair of Easterns for a quite a few years…So now I thought I'd share my story with my female Indigo and her problems. Hopefully this could help someone else in the future make a sound decision when it comes to Indigos and egg problems. I'm currently in Afghanistan and my wife is looking after my snake collection. I have decided to breed my Indigos for the first time back in Jan/Feb. A few days ago my wife noticed my female was very active and upon closer investigation, my wife saw this huge lump near her clocoa. She called me and I was surprised to hear that my female Indigo was actually trying to lay an egg - this late in the year - in August? Could this really be possible? Since so much time has passed I did not think that this snake would have any eggs in her, this late in the season. Heck, most Indigo breeders are having hatchlings already by now…. I told my wife to take the snake to a vet to make sure that this egg wasn't an old egg that may have been stuck in her longer than she may had thought. When she took the snake to the vet, we found out that she had THREE eggs in her, but the lowest one was also the biggest (over three inches long - pretty big for a young 5 foot Indigo). The vet also said that the egg still had fluid in it and it hasn't calcified yet, but it appeared that the snake had trouble pushing out the egg. The vet said take her home and see if she will push this egg out on her own within the next 48 hours, if not, bring her back. My wife took her home and soaked her in a tub of lukewarm water for about 20 minutes, set a huge nest box for her and put her back in the cage and waited. One day, then two days - Nothing…So this time she takes the snake to an experienced snake vet that my local vet referred us to. It seems now, that she is egg-bound as she cannot push this one huge egg out on her own, which blocks the other two, smaller eggs from dropping down….The vet recommends leaving the snake with her for a few days, while she tries some antibiotics and medicine (in an IV), to induce labor, so that she could possibly pass this egg on her own. If this does not work (within another two days), next will be aspiration and finally surgery as a very last resort….This is not looking good. I don't think she will pass this egg, as big as it is (after looking at the pics my wife sent me)….I know some Indigos are notorious for having problems passing eggs or just becoming egg-bound altogether. I have bred a Texas Indigo before (many years ago), and had great success: Six eggs were laid by my five foot female; One was a slug (from day one), but the other five hatched perfectly healthy. So I figured, why not try again, with a very healthy, unrelated Eastern pair that I purchased many years ago (my female is from Tony Carlisle and my male is from Rick Sladick) ….So now I guess it's my turn to have a bad experience….
Yesterday the vet calls and tells my wife that she has passed the big egg on her own and the other two have dropped down a little ways. I'm excited, as this is good news! But she still has two more to go…It seems that the medication HAS worked and at least she has laid that big egg. But, as of a few minutes ago, the vet has informed my wife that she still has not laid those other two eggs and she would like to keep her for a few more days and give her a little more medicine to once again induce labor. So, for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope for the best….I think (and hope), that she will lay these eggs because they are somewhat smaller than that first one….But I will keep you all posted! I know that the more information we share among us, wether it be good or bad or both, that it will hopefully make us all smarter in the long run and maybe even save a few Indigos. And with my love for Indigos, I figured that this is the least I can do. I want to thank some of you guys/gals, for sharing your misfortunes and successes on this forum. I know it has made me a little smarter! Here's the pic of the female (you can actually see where all three eggs are):

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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

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