Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first year breeding hondurans so pardon me if this question seems ignorant. My Honduran is due to lay eggs any day now so this morning I checked on her and in her lay box was this ONE egg , which does not look fertile.

And she was out of her laybox just laying beside it.Is this type of thing normal? Does this mean she is going to lay all bad eggs? when can I expect her to continue laying?

Thanks for your advice.

You are correct, that egg is infertile.
Infertile eggs are usually layed the beginning and/or end of the laying sequence. The ones at the beginning are often layed a few days (3-6) after the pre-lay shedding occurs. Your snake should return to the nestbox to complete her mission when the rest are ready to be layed. There's really no way to predict whether the rest of the eggs will be fertile or not.
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

that would make sense. She had her prelay shed just 4 days so I thought it was early for her to be laying the eggs as well. This is my first year breeding some of my pairs and "murphy" has been present quite a but thus far. Seems like if it could go wrong it has. I really want this girl to give me some good eggs, and then hopefully my graybands will follow suit as well!

since she has already layed a slug, chances are there may be more. It would be best not to disturb her if possible, especially once she starts laying the rest of the eggs. Most breeders are anxious to watch the process, but slugs are harder for the female to pass and if she is disturbed enough it can interrupt the laying process. Anyhow, that's just what I've found in the past, and I've had my share of slugs...
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

Okay Paul. Thanks. I will not bother her. I will just wait and check on her in the morning and see what she has for me then

if the snake has laid 5 slugs and then you cannot feel anything in her belly for eggs anymore (i.e. when she is walking on your fingers), does it mean that she is done laying and no fertile eggs (as oppossed to laying fertile eggs a few days after the slugs come out).... again, you cannot feel anything inside her belly anymore...

Thanks,
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RAY

Whenever I've had slugs at the end of the laying process, it was always evident if there were more slugs remaining or not just by looking at the snake from the side or bottom. Was this a first year breeder for you? I find that first-year breeders that aren't quite up to proper weight are more likely to deliver an entire batch of slugs.
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

She's a first timer but she has adequate weight before mating almost 475 grams on an empty stomach when I weighed her before deciding to mate her. She is however less than 2 years old (20 months). Too bad I'm expecting her to produce a snow or two. My follow up question then is, can she mate this year and breed (like double clutching although technically it is not double clutching since she already laid eggs (slugs).)? And to clarify, if I cannot feel any eggs inside, it's safe to say she's done laying the slugs and no fertile eggs inside her ?

Thanks again for your input...
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RAY

If you can't feel them then it sounds like she's clean. Try feeding her a meal and see if she takes it. Usually if they are egg bound they won't eat.
As far as trying again, it really depends on her weight. If that is still good, and you can push some meals through her, then you can try again. Is the male that was paired with her young too? If so, he may have been the problem. Do you have another male that you can pair her with?
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

Well, I think she is clean because I offered her 1 hopper and 1 large pinky the next day and she took them. The only thing that looked odd to me was she seems restless all the time (like she's looking for a nest area typical behavior of a snake about to lay eggs). And when I put her last night with the same male, she did not want to have anything to do with him... (i guess she's thinking that he may be shooting blanks...hehehe...). But seriously, the male is actually her brother and they are both albinos definite het for anery...hoping to get a snow or two.
So, not sure what to do next...whether give up this season or try again soon,,,and she is about 465 grams.
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RAY

Ray, if it were my snake, I'd either put her with another male or else wait until next year. I've had my share of snakes that were eggbound with slugs and it's a real pain. If she gave you all slugs, then most likely at least one of the two snakes isn't sexually mature yet, or else something wasn't right in the brumation. If you have another male you can maybe eliminate one of these factors. Otherwise you may just end up with more slugs and possibly an eggbound condition. But that's just MHO...
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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

Appreciate your input on this subject. I'll see if another male can do the job to eliminate one factor....

Thanks again.
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RAY

Ray I would lean towards Pauls idea of waiting until next year to be safe. Especially since she is only 20 months old and has already laid one clutch. Even though they were slugs and she is still over 400 grams it just puts her at a high risk for problems. Next year she will be ready to lay a nice fat clutch or two for you. Randy W.

Yup, the local zookeeper I report to when I do my weekly volunteer work strongly suggested to me to that I should just wait next year. Risk of health problems and smaller clutches can result if I "force" her to clutch again this year.

Thanks Randy and Paul for your input. You guys are great in discussing this with me. I've been breeding hondurans for 6 years now and this is the first time I have had a whole clutch of slugs...so it kinda unnerved me. I've heard about it but now I have experienced it...a learning experience for me.

Appreciate your opinions !

Have a good day.
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RAY