I was given several gopher snakes for release on my parents farm and I ended up keeping one, a female, who has never refused a meal and had a favorite spot in her log to lay and a steady routine of when she is active.

Recently I noticed she is laying in the middle of her enclosure by the water instead of under her log, I didn't think much of it until in my research on breeding ball pythons I read that gravid snakes will sometimes lay around the water dish.

The last meal she ate ended up being some FT rat pups because her feeder rat died before she got it, and I thought she was more active during the day because she was hungry due to her small meal but when I tried to give her a thumped rat she would smell it and move on.

I fed that rat to one of the balls and gave her a minute alone in her feeding box and then tried to tempt her with an un-thumped rat. She hissed at it and struck but didnt grab the rat so I thumped it and again she was not interested. She was just agitated at the rat and once it wasn't an annoyance any longer she moved on.

Now that I have the thought that she might be gravid she does look a little bigger in the middle but I am not sure. I have had her since the summer but I never took any measurements.

I can't find much information about captive gopher snakes through google but I read that they lay in the fall, which would be now.. Does anyone have any pictures of advice on how to tell if she is gravid? I would appreciate any info on incubation temps if you have it too.

Thanks, Michelle

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