Reptile & Amphibian Forums

New to this board, hope you all can help. I'm normally just a boa guy, but have been wanting to get into balls too.
So, here's the question...I got a normal female who was around 1100-1200 grams on Jan 29th. I would not be surprised to find out she'd been housed with a male at the place I got her from. She's eaten normally every couple of weeks until last week. Upon her refusing to eat, I became suspicious. I then noticed a slight swelling to her. I tried to palpitate (never have done it with any luck), and thought I felt some marbles. Today, she is totally swollen up.

My question is, what to do. Is there any chance that the eggs will be fertile since she has not been with a male since at least Jan 29th? Can I just let her wrap on the eggs and incubate them herself? I was planning to try breeding her in the fall. I don't have an incubator yet.

Thanks for any help or advice!
Chris
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Chris
0.1 Normal "Pastel" BCI
0.1 Normal BCI
1.0 Albino BCI
0.1 Normal Het Albino BCI
1.0 25% Suri Het Albino BCI
2.1 Striped BCI
0.1 Normal BP
1.1 APBT
1.2 Rug Rats

Is there any chance that the eggs will be fertile since she has not been with a male since at least Jan 29th? Can I just let her wrap on the eggs and incubate them herself? I was planning to try breeding her in the fall. I don't have an incubator yet.

Yes there is a chance she can lay fertile eggs, Ball Pythons store sperm and fertilize their ova when they ovulate.

They do not raise the temps of the clutch like Burms do, so I would recommend artificial incubation. You can make an incubator rather cheaply. U used a 10 gallon aquarium/glass lid with bricks and box with eggs and medium on top of bricks, a helix and a underwater fish heater and hatched out 6 perfect babies.

My female ovulated in April and was not with a male after January.
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Thanks,

Frank Roberts

Thanks for the info Frank. That's encouraging too.

The more I think about it, the more I think you're right. An incubator seems like the better option. Since I've got a couple of months to worry about it, I should be able to get something dialed in by then.

Thanks again!
Chris
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Chris
0.1 Normal "Pastel" BCI
0.1 Normal BCI
1.0 Albino BCI
0.1 Normal Het Albino BCI
1.0 25% Suri Het Albino BCI
2.1 Striped BCI
0.1 Normal BP
1.1 APBT
1.2 Rug Rats

You said you felt marbles? Follicles get to be the size of golfballs (even a little bigger) right before ovulation. If they are only marble size, she has a ways to go. She could possibly be gravid, and it really only takes one copulation.

Good luck.

Thanks for the response...I just meant that I could feel lumps. I wasn't sure how big they were, I've never had much luck palpitating.
She went from looking slightly plump when I felt the "marbles" to looking like she swallowed a grapefruit (a small one), so I'm pretty sure she ovulated.
I guess there's nothing I can do but wait for the shed cycle.
Again,
Thank you!
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Chris
0.1 Normal "Pastel" BCI
0.1 Normal BCI
1.0 Albino BCI
0.1 Normal Het Albino BCI
1.0 25% Suri Het Albino BCI
2.1 Striped BCI
0.1 Normal BP
1.1 APBT
1.2 Rug Rats