Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What happens? Just curious. Yesterday I took my female off her 5 eggs to get them into the incubator and put her back thinking she wasn't finished. In hindsight, that probably wasn't a very good idea, but why, exactly? Turns out, she actually was finished, but she is also still in a tight coil and showed no interest in resuming eating last night. Yes, I did wash everything thoroughly. She hasn't eaten since August and has actually been a very poor feeder since she laid a clutch 2 years ago. Really not sure why, she was a pig before that. But back to my question, will she just resume laying if you disturb her before she's done, or does she kind of get "reset" and it throws everything off? I've been absorbing as much information as possible about snakes since I was 5 years old. I love how much I still have to learn. Just never gets old.

Hi there,
I normally wait until I cant see anymore lumps in the female, then I pull the eggs. I then palp the female to see if she is truly done. If I feel a lump, I put her back in the bin and wait till she finishes. When she does I resume my regiment. I wash the bin, change bedding, and wash my girl. I take a wash cloth, soaked in warm water, and wipe her down, from face to tip, twice. This normally works. My girls start feeding the next day. I dont feed the same day as they lay, due the amount of stress they go through in their laying process. Not to mention they need a break. LOL.
If the female has an egg in her after you pull, and she does not lay it after some time, I will palp the egg(s) and push them down toward her vent to help her get them out. Maybe they are not ready, so I dont force them out. If I feel that she will not lay them, after a long time, I will take her to the vet. I have never had this problem, so Im not sure what happens after that. All my girls that have layed so far this year have already started to eat, and some are eating three rats in one feeding. If you get rid of all the "Clutch Smell" from her and the bin, she should start to feed relatively soon. Good luck, and when are you gonna post pics of your clutch? I cant wait to see them!

swich

I had a cornsnake lay 15 eggs for me once. I thought she was done and removed the eggs, jostling her as little as possible, but obviously still disturbing her.

She wound up with an egg still inside her that she didn't lay, and thus became eggbound. I don't know for sure if its because I bothered her, but I've always believed it was. She became eggbound and 320$ and several different procedures later, the vet got the egg out. (I still laugh at myself for spending $320 in vet bills on a normal corn snake, but you know how it is!)

So, in conclusion, its always best to leave the girls alone until you are 100% sure she's done. I don't mean to scare you with this story, but its a true experience that I had. Hopefully yours will be easier.

Joel
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0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Corn Snake
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Blood Python

Very Rarly do I post here, but I thought this was a good question.

Like you mentioned, you really didn't bother your female, but you think you may have. It is important to make sure the female is done. So, when you see she is on the eggs, wait a few hours before you remove the eggs. This will ensure she is finished.

When a females has the eggs removed from her, even when you wash them and get all the smell out, they will ball tightly up and act like they are incubating eggs for a few days to even a month.

I like to wait at least a week before feeding the female, and that usually lets her know she isn't on her eggs anymore. Even after they feed you'll sometimes see them curl up and act like they are incubating eggs.

It isn't IMPORTANT for that female get Food RIGHT after you take the eggs becasue she normally wouldn't eat for another 70 to 80 days. So, don't worry about feeding her RIGHT AWAY.

Wait awhile, and she'll go back to that PIG she was before.

Also, I notice that once the female SHEDS, then she does extreemly well on the food.

Hope this helps.

Jeremy Stone

Thanks Jeremy. I checked her over real well and I see no signs of anything being left in her. I was just thinking fast when I decided to take the ones she had already laid before I considered whether she was done or not. I always see pics of people with their perfectly laid out clucthes, not in a mass. I wanted one too.