Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If your bringing an adult, proven, female out of brumation and planning on NOT breeding her .. she isnt going to still lay a clutch of unfertilized eggs is she?

May seem like a silly question, Ive always been a boid guy myself ...

... I was told that once out of brumation she will still produce eggs but since copulation wont take place they of course wont be fertilized but that she will still have to lay the clutch so a nest box is necessary ...

... is this correct??

I bought an adult Cal king female for a display animal and wasnt planning on breeder her, she produced last year and has been brumated and warmed back up, and is feeding great. I had planned on just keeping her warm and feeding her on a normal schedule. However, if she is going to develope eggs anyway and have to lay a clutch it might as well be a fertilized one, and I need to get a male ... lol

Thanks ..

No,....the female will "ovulate" within her body, producing "ova", but that is different than producing eggs. When a males sperm fertilizes the eggs,.....THEN they will become viable eggs........BUT,.... it is not unheard of for a female to "store" sperm from a previous mating, and have healthy eggs without a male being present. This is not the norm however,and although it happens on occasion,it is quite rare. hope this helps.............................................Doug

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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

n/p
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

...... and thanks for the clarification, just doesnt make sense otherwise but not having experience with coloubrids I figured I better ask!

Thanks again .. looks like I just purchased a male anyway ... lol ...

I emailed back, but it was returned because of an error. Any way, forgot to mention like the other post also said, the ova that are produced during brumation cycle will be reabsorbed. On some rarer occasions snakes are also known to lay unfertilized eggs without mating, known as "duds" or "slugs"(this also happens after mating). but since you later emailed it's a male, I guess the above will NOT apply!!LOL..........as to your email question about containers,....I use Rubbermaid "sweaterboxes" for most of my adult colubrids since I have a large collection, and space and efficiency are my key factors.....you on the other hand, might opt for the larger size that you mentioned since you can most likely afford the extra space......best regards, Doug
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

Even for 5' to 6' animals???

That seems to me to be rather small but then again, colubrids are smaller bodied than what Im used to.

The Cal King is indeed a female ... I ended up buying a male that I ran across regardless so Ill probably be putting them together after her shed....

is if the container's circumfrence is at least 1-1/2 times or bigger, than the length of the snake, it will do fine. You could make it much larger if you want, providing you have adequate hide boxes for it to feel "secure" in.....hatchlings, on the other hand, do much better in a small, contained area, so they feel more secluded, and hidden as they would in nature, this is VERY important............good luck,.....................Doug
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

It is possible that the female will reabsorb the eggs or lay unfertilized eggs... both outcomes have been documented.

~ZF
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