Posted by:
jason
at Sat May 23 07:11:11 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by jason ]
As far as cool seeking behavior goes, I have seen non gravid females do it, and I have several females who, when gravid, never display this behavior. At this stage, if she is gravid, the next thing you want to look for is any sort of over all color change in the snake. Not all females demonstrate this, but several weeks before ovulation, a good deal of females will get a "glow" to them. After that you're going to look for any increase in mass about midbody from the snake. It helps to hold the snake up and let her hang down and relax. If you look at her from the side, it will look like she has sort of a beer belly. After this would come ovulation, followed by a prey lay shed, then egg laying. According to texts, egg laying should come anywhere from 27-30 days after the prey lay shed. My ball pythons don't read the same books I do, and I have females that lay 40-45 days after the prey lay shed. Seeing your female lay inverted is also a good sign, though not a sure fire way to know that she is gravid.
As far as palpating goes, I've never been good at it, so I don't even bother. I've read how to do it and seen it described, but I'll be damned if I can ever feel anything in a female that I know for sure is gravid, let alone one I'm hoping is gravid.
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RE: question for breeders.. - jason, Sat May 23 07:11:11 2009