>>Thanks, Dusty, for your take on this. You've described essentially what's taken place. She did finally pass the last 2 eggs two days apart. They were sluggos.

No prob.

>>Hope I never have to aspirate an egg. Sounds fraught with complications & I'm sure the snake doesn't enjoy it one bit!
>>Anyway, she's doing fine & I appreciate everyone's feedback.
>>Dan

If done right, aspirating an egg is probably quite a lot safer than a variety of other methods, like, for example, manually pushing the egg out or waiting too long for the female to pass them. Too long is the key word there...eggs can become necrotic and essentially rot inside the female's oviducts. I've seen this when I worked at veterinary clinics; not a pretty sight when the female was finally cut open.

I haven't had a problem with aspirating (yet), and I know of long-time breeders who've never had a problem in many years of doing it. Then again, I've got one friend who's a suboc breeder, and he's never had a problem letting the stuck eggs sit for months until they're passed as shriveled, hardened remnants of old eggs. I don't think many vets would recommend the latter, but a well-known herp veterinarian friend of mine did recommend aspirating.

The right method to choose sometimes depends on where the eggs are at in the body too.

DR
Suboc.com

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