Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey i was wondering if there is any way to conclusivly know for sure that a female is gravid? My normal female and my het albino had been breeding for about a month and a half. I took my male out for a few days to rest and then put him back in. A week ;ater i noticed that they where no longer locking up at all. I thought that this ment she is gravid but she is still eating. Will she continue to eat if she is gravid or do they stop right away? When i seen them staying away from one another i figured she was gravid but when i put the rat in well you know how they do it. She struck the poor rat like she hadnt eaten in years. She is not melnurished at all she is actually very healthy and at a very healthy size. I am in work and busy right now so i really cant go to my photobucket and pull a picture out to post but i will respond to this one later with a picture. Thanks ahead of time for any help from anyone.
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B Sleeper

1.0 Chocolate Lab
0.1 ?? Normal Ball python (yet different)
1.0 04 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Pied
1.0 06 Pastel
0.? 07 Pos Het Albino (Momma has not laid the eggs yet)

you can take the animal to a good vet and have an ultrasound done, but with moderately developed follicles, you can palpate those yourself. they may feel like grapes, or larger. when she has eggs, you will feel, well, eggs.

get the Seward/Sutherland DVD and they show how to palpate for follicles and eggs, it is hard to accurately communicate in a post. check the classifieds.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

www.ballpython.ca

Go to that site and check out the step-by-step pictures of breeding. They also have several very excellent ways to tell if your snake has ovulated or is gravid.

A few of the 'symptoms' I can remember of being GRAVID, not ovulating, are: Coiled up in a perfect coil on the warm side of the tank, crankiness, a fattening of the last half of the snake's body, also the ovulation shed, after which you have roughly a month until she lays eggs.

Good luck!

~jenny
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1.2 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 mice (Cute Girl Mousy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
1.25 chickens (Ugly the rooster and his harem)

jenny.thegreenes.org

sometimes that's what it takes.....

usually you can tell.........they just show it all over.....

you'll know when you have a few.......

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...........you would think so huh?...........