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I remember seeing a presentation on ovulation in snakes at the IHS years ago. upon necropsy of an adult femal python that died unexpectedly it was discovered that the female snake had more than one set of egg follicles of different sizes. It was determined/suspected that female snakes perpetually produce their egg follicles a year or two before those follicles will be ready for fertilization. My question, based on the assumption that that determination was correct is: Is it possible that female snakes hatch with follicles or are they developed months, or a year later. Does anyone know for fact? I'm posting this in the ratsnake forum because that is where my interests lay. Rusty

Is it possible that female snakes hatch with follicles or are they developed months, or a year later.

I would think that snake ovaries are somewhat similar to the development of human ovaries. The snake is probably born with a set number of oogonia that produce the oocytes.

Each season I would suspect a number of those oocytes are stimulated to become follicles probably in response to some sort of gonadotropin (FSH analog). What the python data (I think you are probably referring to Dave Barker's talk?) he found that the development of follicles occurs much earlier than previously assumed. How long it takes all the follicles to mature to ovulation I don't know.

So I think (but don't know for sure) that the development of the follicle is stimulated by gonadotropins after the attainment of sexual maturity.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas