Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys....I know it may take a while for a female to lay her eggs but all the talk of females getting eggbound has caused me to think a bit and post here. My female BT Cribo is looking really plump and I have given her a lay box with vermiculite in it and she has checked it out since shedding 8 days ago. I have given her total privacy as she has been quite nervous ever since being bred, striking glass etc...Questions is when should I be expecting eggs and how long after her shed is considered egg bound? Any tips on getting her to lay? Extra humidity? Different temps, etc? Do I just need more patience and a Valium?

Any help would be appreciated....I am just an anxious father to be....Thanks!!

I would use a nest box that is opaque, with the only light into the nest coming through the hole in the top.

I would use damp peat moss and sphagnum moss mixed in the nest box.

I move the eggs from the nest box to the incubator where they rest on vermiculite or are suspended above water.

Just what I do. Don't know if it'll help. I don't have a definitive answer for when a snake is "bound up". Sorry

Doug T

>>Hey guys....I know it may take a while for a female to lay her eggs but all the talk of females getting eggbound has caused me to think a bit and post here. My female BT Cribo is looking really plump and I have given her a lay box with vermiculite in it and she has checked it out since shedding 8 days ago. I have given her total privacy as she has been quite nervous ever since being bred, striking glass etc...Questions is when should I be expecting eggs and how long after her shed is considered egg bound? Any tips on getting her to lay? Extra humidity? Different temps, etc? Do I just need more patience and a Valium?
>>
>>Any help would be appreciated....I am just an anxious father to be....Thanks!!

I agree with Doug's words and will add a few more. During this time I would highly recommend that you keep a continual supply of fresh water (every day); dehydration may be a major cause of egg binding but I have little scientific evidence to support my claim...just a theory. Also, make sure that the ambient humidity in the egg laying box is kept moderately high. You may have to hand mist the container every other day...just make sure its NOT wet!...just barely damp at the most. I personally wouldn't recommend vermiculite for the egg laying medium (fine for incubating the eggs though); go with Doug's advice as that is what I do as well....I have even successfully used shredded newspaper with good success - misted and wrung out). Also, make sure the box is placed in an area where the temps are approximately where they should be at during the incubation process (something in the 78 degree range). Your female will start to get real restless just prior to actual egg deposition; that will give you a nice behavioral cue that something is about to happen. I have found that egg bound snakes will normally get at least one or two eggs out before problems happen. If, after egg laying, you still notice bulges after a day or so, you may need to get the snake to the vet immediately.
Hope this helps.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>Hey guys....I know it may take a while for a female to lay her eggs but all the talk of females getting eggbound has caused me to think a bit and post here. My female BT Cribo is looking really plump and I have given her a lay box with vermiculite in it and she has checked it out since shedding 8 days ago. I have given her total privacy as she has been quite nervous ever since being bred, striking glass etc...Questions is when should I be expecting eggs and how long after her shed is considered egg bound? Any tips on getting her to lay? Extra humidity? Different temps, etc? Do I just need more patience and a Valium?
>>
>>Any help would be appreciated....I am just an anxious father to be....Thanks!!
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Thanks guys... that sounds good. I have a nest box that can't been seen through and it is in her hide box. She has been very restless in the last few days so maybe it is going to happen soon.

Thank you for the suggestions and information.

Man!!! I thought I had patience with my boa courting, copulation, gestation and all the wait......This is getting silly. As soon as she lays I am going to have to wait another 90 days for the pups to hatch too!!! This whole process is going to take 6.5 months.......

I just noticed how thick my female looks in her mid section and not closer to her lower extremities. Is this abnormal? It looks like she is swelled up in the mid portion of her body abnormally.....She had her pre-lay shed 13 days ago and I would imagine her swelling being more so at the base of her cloaca...

A 90 day wait, as it could be a 120 day wait! I have had D. couperi and D. m rubidus go that long, but the neonates were HUGE!!

Now you know why so many of us, who breed Drys, are bald! ;0)

Good luck and don't let your hairline run away from your foregead, at least not until you have babies to get started..

Good luck,

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

Most of my D. couperi have exhibited the mid-body girth you have indicated, as have all of my female D. m rubidus and D. m erebennus. My D. couperi normally begin oviposition 15-20 days post pre-lay ecdysis, but I have had a few begin oviposition in as little as 7-10 days post pre-lay ecdysis.

Good luck,

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

This is definitely a great learning experience. Very different than most colubrids and other animals. I am trying to exercise patience!

brett, this little girl parents bred right around labor day 03, the eggs appeared on st. patrick's day & she hatched just before the 4th of july......patience is a virtue & an asset when dealing w/ drys. hang loose & just let her do her stuff. she's probably less worried than you. :>]

She could easily wait another two weeks. Good luck to her.