Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello friends: My female eastern is swelling at the base of her cloaca. She has been this way for about a week. She will not eat and looks like she is starting to go into a shed. In the past, when she has laid eggs, she would have her pre laying shed and pass out five or six infertile eggs. I've provided a nest box with damp newspaper, Temp is in the hi 70's
in the box. Plus she is sunning herself under the lamp regularly. What are your thoughts ? I've never experienced an egg bound snake, so I'm not sure what I'm dealing with here.
any thoughts ?
thanks, again.

Mark

Mark,

How long has it been since her last ecdysis?
Personally, I have never had a female that has successfully laid eggs in the past become egg bound.
If you maintained notes, regarding the last time your female went into oviposition, you may wish to refer to them for a timeline, as Drys tend to harbor a well defined circadian clock, making them creatures of habit. Should you notice a marked deviance from past oviposition experiences, such could well be cause for alarm. In such cases, a visit to a veterinarian, well versed in herpetofauna, would be in order…

Good luck,

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

my guessi is that she is not ready and will lay 1-3 weeks after she sheds.

I have a female in the same condition. Mine often drop the eggs down close to the cloaca like that just before the prelay shed.

Good Luck.

Jeff & Dean - thanks for your replies. I'm going to wait out the shed and see what happens. Dean, since you have seen this before It gives me a certain amount of peace of mind. I checked my notes from earlier egg laying. this will be the earliest that she has ever laid. So, maybe that's a good thing. She has always laid infertile eggs. Perhaps this is a good thing.

Thanks again !

Markthis before It gives me a certain amonut of peace of mind

Hi Mark, you're close and there's no need to worry yet. After she sheds she should be ready to go as others have stated. I have Eastern here that must be on the same schedule as yours. Eggs are already way down towards the tail and she's just about ready to shed.

More interesting is a Texas indigo which looks gravid and just recently shed. She's still taking meals while at the same time tearing up the cage as if she's close to laying. I put nest box in the cage and time will tell.

Hey Steve - Glad to hear this is common. I'm really optimistic that these may be good. I didn't see my pair hook up but that did have a lot of private time and the male is very aggressive. I'm hoping he completed his mission

Thanks, Mark