Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wanted to ask a question regarding my female Xmas. She deposited 8 good eggs Friday night late....but still appears to have 2 still left inside her. She is just staying still inside the nest box and hasn't done anything since. The eggs are not right at the vent but a couple inches away. Is this normal and should I just leave her alone for a couple days? Thanks, Jerry

At this point it sounds like your female is having trouble passing those last two.. There are several ways to deal with egg binding and over the years i have tried just about all of them including paying a vet to deal with it, all with lack luster results..

I am sure that everyone here has different opinions on how to deal with this, but what i do now with somewhat reasonable success is just wait it out and hope that over time the eggs pass on their own.

Good luck, keep us posted.

~ Mike Russo

Thanks Mike! That is what I was thinking. Hope you have good success with your Alterna this year.

Jerry

I have had this issue and despite waiting they did not come out on their own. If after maybe a week or so they do not pass I would first try soaking her in warm water in the hopes that it may help loosen them up or encourage her to pass them. At that point I would say either aspirate the eggs on your own or take her to the vet for an expert opinion.

I have never had any problems aspirating eggs and they usually will pass quickly after the procedure is done with very little if any negative effect on the health of the snake. That has been my experience, though others may disagree.

To be honest, I took one egg bound female alterna to the vet after waiting too long and trying apsiration on my own. She was given oxytocin injections, but never made it. I quess if the snake is feeding, maybe let it ride. If the snake does not resume feeding due to the eggbinding, I would recommend trying to palpate the eggs out. I had success with palpation with two female alternas that had eggs left not too far from their vents. One the vet lubed up with mineral oil and passed the eggs manually. The other I was able to gently palpate the eggs toward the vent and push out. Both recovered well and began eating almost immediately. Just keep and eye that they resume feeding.

The female took a meal tonight right away. The egg is right at the vent but she is out of the egg box and doesn't seem to be trying to move it out? Just not sure "how long is too long" to wait until trying to palpate it out. There appears to be another egg pretty far away from the vent as well. This sucks....she is my favorite dark phase xmas.

JD

Her eating is a good sign. The egg close to the vent can be pushed til exposed at the vent opening and aspirated. Once the egg is collapsed, she may pass it our you can gently palpate it out/grap with forceps and remove, etc. You can try to just gently palpate the egg out since it is close already without aspirating it. Lube up the vent area with some mineral oil or vegetable oil so it slides out easier. I suggest going for it if near the vent. The other one may have to just stay. Once again, as long as she is eating she will probably be OK and I take that as a good sign. One female I had that was eggbound never resumed feeding and just weakened to the point of death. It was a heartbreaking experience to have an expensive locality greyband die on me, even after spending as much as I paid for her on vet services to try and save her.

If the egg further up can be moved downward by gentle palpation towards the vent, go for it. If it appears to resist palpation, it may have tissue binding it already and could cause damage if forced too much. I suggest giving it a go. Just apply gentle pressure downward and see if the egg moves to the vent fairly easily. Sooner the better IMO.