Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...heck!
i opened this snakes cage and she is laying eggs!!!!
i never bred her because i do not know what she is. i just like the way she looks. now she is laying eggs. i took her to the vet because i thought she was impacted three weeks ago. i never thought that she was holding eggs. i put an egg box in with her and she crawled in and finished off with a total of six eggs. only two look white and firm the others were small jello looking eggs. i have had her for seven months and she has never been in another cage. can snakes hold sperm for that long?

i have had her for seven months and she has never been in another cage. can snakes hold sperm for that long?

Unless you see a star in the East, I'd say that the answer appears to be yes. I've heard that there are stories of females "self-generating" fertilzed eggs, but I've heard that these cases are very rare and hard to confirm.

If I understand what you're saying, only two of the eggs are likely to produce hatchlings. I wish you well with them. Of course, if you don't know what she is and you know even less about the father, these little ones are going to be a complete mystery. It's a shame that you don't know a zoology grad student who could run some DNA for you. If DNA confirmed that she had nothing but CalKing in her and the little ones had nothing but CalKing in them, you could treat them as a new line of CalKing and go hog wild and pig crazy with it.

Either way, I think it will be neat if you get some little ones.

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

i'll name them ANAKIN SKYWALKERS one and two hahaha.
thanks jason wilson

Yeah, keep us posted on those eggs. I'd be very interested to see what comes out of them. I'm looking into building one of the ladder racks that you use, I can't wait to get it finished. About how much do you spend total for the melamine and heat tape? good luck with those eggs.
-Phil

i built them from 16" shelving. the wood i got for about $100.00 from a discount center here in jax. the heat tape i bought from big apple. i got 50 feet for oooww about 120.00. the thermostates are 25-30 each. the cool thing about the design is i only cut the legs to size. everything else was standard size 16x36" boards @3/4" thisk. search for ladder rack and you will see a site for i think it is "Troys ladder racks". he built them for ball pythons but they are sweet for kings. e mail me if you need any other help with yours i used 1-5/8" dry wall screws. predrill and counter sink the heads. i used the sterilite 41qt tubs from walmart. i bought 40 of them at about 260.00 total.i built 4 free standing units each with 10 holes. i left 3/8' gap between the tub and the top of the next board and did not drill any air/vent holes. i chose this because i wanted to see first if the humidity would be good. i know they get plenty of fresh air. more than they would have if i would have drilled holes and slammed the tops right down on the tubs. but only adult kings can go it them. my little guys would slip right out.i did have one female that got her head out one time. so i just taped some card board under the tub and she has about 1/4" space at the top.
i can clean every cage in about three hours and water them in about 10-15 min. worth every dime in my book!
thanks and let me know how yours goes. o yeah go with the 4" heat tape i used 11" and it is over kill. i am going to switch it out when i get some extra cash. use the extra money on a helix thermostat. that is my next change.e mail me and i will give you my phone number. ok thanks jason wilson

what exactly is that? looks calkingXgopher perhaps,regardless its always nice to get a basket of UNexpected eggs good luck w/them,,,,,,thomas

Check out this picture I found online. Its a wildcaught gopher cal king hybrid. I saw it and it immediately reminded me of your snake with just a hint more color. Crazy about those eggs... can't wait to see them if they hatch! Where did you get that guy again?

but like you said it has more color.i bought her out side of a pet store. a kid was trying to buy a ball python and the store owner would not take it as a trade. so i gave the kid $60 for it.
the kid said it was a cal king and he bought it from a breeder that sold at a local fleamarket.i went to the fleamarket and could not find anyone who knew of it.so i was just going to keep it as a "pet-pet". i saw that she was swelling up and i took her to the vet. they gave it the shots and wormer stuff and said it was not a fecal stone. we never even thought it would be gravid. now i have two good looking eggs. one of the eggs produced was only the shell rolled up and twisted like a cork screw. i have the two incubating now and they look ok. i have never bred snakes and feel stupid for not thinking that it was gravid.another leason learned.
thanks jason wilson

ps i do not see how this could be a new morph. it can not be proven. i think if it was a full cal king somebody on this fourm would know. even FR said it is not natural. it is a sweet snake and i am lucky to own it.
i'm not sure if you remember but i said when it shed i would give the scale count(23). then 5-7 days later eggs! she is on her own track lol. i swear i never ever bred it and was not going to.

Nice rack system and I like the airflow design you opted for. Good luck with the eggs!
Todd Hughes

thanks-they are working great