Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How do you tell if you have an eggbound female?
Nagena laid a large (37 eggs!, though at least three looked infertile) clutch on the 21st. She has since eaten 1 fuzzy, and is currently blue eyed and preparing to shed. I left the nest box in with her (after emptying it) and she still spends most of her time there. However, last night I noticed two definite bulges along her lower belly (the mouse bulge should be long since gone). She wouldn't eat any more last night (though this isn't unusual when she is in shed). Is it time to head for the vet? (anyone know of a good snake vet in the Seattle area?(eastside preferred)).
Corinne
dragonfly@w-link.net

I have not had a case of a snake being egg bound. So, I can only tell you what I'd do. Take her to a vet. Have them xray and asperate the egg if neccesary. Good luck
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****Misty****

"Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints"

The list keeps getting Smaller!
Not counting Hatchlings, this is what I have.........

1.1.2 bearded dragons
7.17.4 corn snakes
1.1.0 jungle corns
2.5.0 king snakes
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
0.1.0 rat snake
1.1.0 Leucistic rat snakes
1.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrots
0.1.0 German Shepherd hybrid dog

Well I took Nagena to the vet. I picked the nearest one recommended by the Northwest Herpetological society (from 4 on their web site). They X-rayed her and sure enough there were eggs still in her (I could only make out 2 on the x-ray, but the vet thought she saw others). Good God! How many eggs can one snake have? (In addition to whatever is still inside, there are 37 sitting in the incubator). The vet gave her calcium, and when that didn't produce results oxytoxin. Still nothing. They plan to manually extricate the eggs tomorrow morning (sounds painful). I called Kathy Love, and she recommended aspirating them, but warned me the vet might not be willing. Sure enough, the vet thought it was a horrible idea. I realize I'm running into a bit of politics here between the vet (who has the schooling in animal care, though not necessarily in corn snakes, and the breeder who has the extensive experience in one type of animal, but not the medical schooling) but since I don't have the courage to try aspirating her myself, I'll have to go with the procedure the vet recommends. Wish Nagena luck tomorrow morning.
Corinne
dragonfly@w-link.net

Just wanted to make sure that the snake is okay.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

my vet refused to asiperate my eggbound king also ,if you are forced to it's not that big of a deal.the first time i did it a vet/friend walked me thru it.if i can help let me know,i'm sure kathy has more experience than most.hope all goes well.

Extraction didn't go too well. The vet got out 3 eggs (2 looked if they had been good and one slug, but I dumped all 3, not wanting to deal with possibly deformed hatchlings). She also got out some yellow mucus that was "tinged with blood"
There is still a fourth egg high up. We decided to give Nagena a rest (I don't think she was thrilled with the whole episode) and see if the egg would come out on it's own. Put her on anti-biotics (I get to injest her daily for the next week and a half. What fun--and I wouldn't blame her if she became quite nippy as the vet attested that she doesn't like needles (I didn't ask how many times she had been bitten)). Nagena started her post-natal shed badly at the vet, (flakes coming off on the lower back, possibly due to rough handling in the extraction). All in all not a happy camper.
Is there a world record for number of eggs in one clutch. Nagena had 37 (currently incubating), 3 (dumped at the vet) and one still inside for a total of 41!
Corinne
dragonfly@w-link.net