Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I saw the mating...I saw my females swell up...and I thought for sure they were gravid...but they've done what I *thought* was the pre lay shed back on...Monday or Tuesday?

And nothing. And they're not looking nearly as thick

False alarm? Or is that normal?
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

>>Well, I saw the mating...I saw my females swell up...and I thought for sure they were gravid...but they've done what I *thought* was the pre lay shed back on...Monday or Tuesday?
>>
>>And nothing. And they're not looking nearly as thick
>>
>>False alarm? Or is that normal?

With a good nesting spot you can get eggs within a day or two after that Pre egg laying shed.......
But the norm seems to be about 10 days after.....Sometimes less, sometimes more.........

Last year I got a good clutch 4 days after a pre egg laying shed but most were around 7 days......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

If the female got thinner looking after the shed but there are no eggs anywhere including inside her, could she have laid then eaten them? I have heard of that happening, although I hope not in this case!
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

wouldn't she have a bulge then though?
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

Have you even picked her up and felt for eggs?
There is a possibility of re absorption as well........
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

I have tried but I've never felt for eggs so I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. There were a few bumps (for lack of better word) I could feel preshed.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

If you let a gravid female crawl through your hand with your thumb pressed lightly into her belly you should be able to count the number of eggs with some accuracy. The eggs should have been pretty apparent.
I'd be worried, too, about the laid-and-ate scenario. You said they began looking thinner, not thin, which could describe such a happenstance: If they eat the eggs the body mass shifts anteriorally but only gradually digests so slimming occurs gradually.

If they eat the eggs the body mass shifts anteriorally but only gradually digests so slimming occurs gradually.

True. What Terry said. Except i would not know to us the word "anteriorally", lol. I would say the eggs are more in the forward half of the stomach area.

If you feel them anywhere in the upper half ("anteriorally" I would say she ate them. But when they eat their eggs the process take a while so you should have been able to witness it unless you left her alone for a day or more. And sometimes they leave some leftover in the cage. So you would know from that as well. It is the most heartbreaking thing can haopen to us breeders.

This is why i remove eggs while they are laying now. Take no chances.
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www.Bluerosy.com

If she ate the eggs wouldn't they get sort of squished as she swallowed them and not make much of a bulge? Like when they swallow a mouse and it get squished or compacted in diameter to fit through the gullet. Is she in a cage with any other snakes? Maybe someone else is the culprit. I am putting my bred females alone in their maternity cages mainly to avoid that happening. Also have marked the potential due dates on my calender. I would be totally bummed if my snakes turned out to be "cannibals"; its bad enough to have mice do that!
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

If she ate the eggs wouldn't they get sort of squished as she swallowed them and not make much of a bulge?

NO. They don't squish. The eggs are solid and the snakes are careful eating them. The only thing is the teeth marks destroy the eggs. You can palpitate them out but none will be viable.
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www.Bluerosy.com

Yeah, I don't think I would have used the word "anteriorally" either.

I would have used the word "anteriorly"...

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -Serpentine Specialties

>>Yeah, I don't think I would have used the word "anteriorally" either.
>>
>> I would have used the word "anteriorly"...

1 to doug and to rainer. I hesitated when i typed it, didn't feel quite right. Now i could kick myself posteriorally for using that word.

"Now i could kick myself posteriorally for using that word"

HAHAA!!...I love it Terry!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -Serpentine Specialties

wouldn't she have a bulge then though?
True! LOL!
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

wouldn't she have a bulge then though?

Not really. The gegs are small in diametr and they line up in the stomach of the snake. Then it would be even less noticable if the female was thin before eating them (which they usually are because at this point).

if you suspect a snake has eaten the eggs just feel her belly like you would for follicles or eggs. The only difference is the eggs moved.lol.
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www.Bluerosy.com

#1
I've seen females (a few times) swell up and then go down in size, enough to cause concern. Did I lose the eggs?
I had the same fear you're describing, only to find a healthy clutch being laid on day 14 (I've had eggs laid almost 3 weeks after the pre-lay shed).
Make sure an egg box is left in the cage and you might be pleasantly surprised.

#2
The eggs weren't fertilized and she could be ovulating again. Place them back together and see if they show interest in mating.

My money is on #1...what species are you referring to by the way?

-R

Florida kings. I tried a brief reintroduction (I'd seperated her out after her shed) but the male didn't seem real interested. I may try to feed her a meal or two and put him back in again in a week. And I'm definitely feeding the male, he's been busy as hell and has lost a bit of weight.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

You know, you should just leave them together.
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www.Bluerosy.com