Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last season she gave me 26 eggs. Hoping for the same or better this season. I will check tonight to see what we ended up with.

-----
Shane@SSuperiorSSerpents.com
http://www.ssuperiorsserpents.com/

26 eggs in a single clutch ? Or from the whole season?

if it is 26 eggs in a single clucth, that is huge!

What was the fertility if this was the case?

Found this guy in my yard last april.

-----
"the fact of the matter is if folks want "pure" types they should go snake hunting. or at least do some research on potential breeding stock and not just pick anything up anywhere show/petshop"

Thomas Davis

It was a single clutch. I thnk I did lose one of them

-----
Shane@SSuperiorSSerpents.com
http://www.ssuperiorsserpents.com/

And 24 in todays clutch

-----
Shane@SSuperiorSSerpents.com
http://www.ssuperiorsserpents.com/

Holy cow..and those are huge eggs to.

well you must feed her well. Have to double or triple clucthed her yet? If you feed her like 7-8 mice now and throw the male back in with her she will ovulate and throw eggs again for you.

Calories = ovulation. If you starve her or feed her sparingly she probably won't ovulate.
-----
"the fact of the matter is if folks want "pure" types they should go snake hunting. or at least do some research on potential breeding stock and not just pick anything up anywhere show/petshop"

Thomas Davis

I have never tried to double clutch her. She is so thin after laying that many that she looks pitiful. I offered her 2 live fuzzys for the heck of this afternoon and after an hour, still untouched. I took them out after the 2nd hour. I will try and feed her again tomorrow. But not sure I will double clutch her. I have people waiting for more than half her clutch each year, which is good. I think they are too good to wholesale for a few dollars each if I produce too many. I wish more people could/would appreciate these and othr locale sp. kings.
-----
Shane@SSuperiorSSerpents.com
http://www.ssuperiorsserpents.com/

Whatever you do that female is a brute of a eastern king. If it was my snake i would want to get her back in top form.. 24 eggs is nothing to sneeze at. Now you should reward her for all her hard work.

Females usually take a few days to recouperate after the stress of laying before they eat. When they do you should feed them their fill. That is when you just throw in as many mice, chicks, rats ..(whatever) as they will eat until they stop and there are leftovrs.

A big thick heathy female like yours will eat and ovulate a second time no problem (3x if you have some practise at this).

Think of it this way. YOU do not breed the snake. Snakes pretty much know what they want to do. That is why a female will eat like crazy and get hungry a few days after laying. She will ovulate if you feed her properly to regain what she lost if you do it soon enough. In other words; let her eat as much as she wants. Whether you add the male to fertilize her egg follicles or not, she will still go through the same process as if she had fertilized eggs. Only difference is you with-held the male to fertilize her eggs.

Also by withholding food and forcably not allowing her to ovulate is the same thing as a woman who stops menstruating when their bodyfat gets to low. Gymnasts, competing bodybuilders are known for this.

Personally I do not think it is healthy for longevity to do so.
-----
"the fact of the matter is if folks want "pure" types they should go snake hunting. or at least do some research on potential breeding stock and not just pick anything up anywhere show/petshop"

Thomas Davis

I routinely get clutches in the mid-20s (23-26) from my GA easterns. For NJs, it is typically in the high teens to low 20s (17-22). I have triple clutched the GAs on several occasions and routinely double clutch all of my easterns. The egg counts remain high for second and third clutches. My original adult breeders are all in their teens and are still going strong. I don't think that allowing them to multi-clutch hurts them in the least as long as they are allowed to eat as much as they want and re-build those fat stores.

Beautiful snake and a great clutch of eggs!

Will

I am not against the double and triple clutching, its I do not want to have to have to wholesale all of the extra babies. I have a waiting list for most of the first clutch, and I like it that way. If I felt I had an outlet for them, without "giving" them away, I would consider it.
-----
Shane@SSuperiorSSerpents.com
http://www.ssuperiorsserpents.com/