Reptile & Amphibian Forums

On Wednesday I split up 2 of my breeding pairs to offer them some food. Everyone ate, and they were paired back up Friday night. That night I think I had an ovulation in one cage, and on Saturday night I think I had another ovulation in the other cage. Here are some pics. It's a little hard to tell, so I'll explain what's going on in each pic.

Friday night: This females sides are normally vertical. The rat I fed her was approximately 8" long, the tub in the picture is 16" long. She is swollen along approximately 20" of her body. She excreted all of her food from her last meal so I know she isn't backed up. This was also the first night I witnessed actual copulation (penetration), not just courting. I'm not sure if this was an ovulation only because I didn't see the vertical swelling that usually accommodates an ovulation.

Another pic of the same female before I decided to put the male back in with her.

Saturday night: I walked in the snake room and noticed this girl was actually swelling out of her hide box. I lifted the hide to take a look and noticed she was larger than normal. When I feed this snake XXL rats, you can't tell. Her sides are also normally vertical, but not this time. This was also the first night the male decided to stop courting her (he's usually all over her, non-stop).

Vertical swelling:

Sides swelling:

Niether of these swellings look as promising as my first ovulation did.

First pairing is TH moonglow X DH snow, second is Kahl arabesque X Surinam.
Thanks for looking,
Anthony

I personally do not think that either of those swellings are ovulations. I do think that they are pre-ov swells though , and here's why. . . .

> I personally can not get a female to accept the smallest meal within 5-7 days of an actual ovulation . This refusal is a good indicator that she's close .

> It is a rarity to find a male still courting a female during an ovulation . He will usually stop about a week prior , almost re-pelled from her by a scent or something -- another good sign to look for .

> Most pre ov swells that I've seen are wider than they are tall . Most ovulations are taller than they are wide - and very tight looking. Here's a few pics for you .
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pre-ov swell (wider). This female doesn't look as round as yours , probably because I start offering much smaller meals during courtship--
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Ovulations (Taller)--
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Snake room janitor

Those are great pics! I wasn't sure, but I was being prematurely optimistic. My first female in December refused food the day before she ovulated. I also recall more vertical swelling in the region just before her cloaca. I didn't notice any "scale-spreading" that usually indicates an ovulation either. I will keep my eye on them and see if they show any gravid behavior or if they drop a P.O.S. Nonetheless, I wanted to get some outside opinions. Both males are still in with the females, and will remain that way until I'm sure.

Thanks,
Anthony-