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I have a BP that i think has mated. She has not wanted to eat since the expected breeding on memorial day weekend. Her last feeding was on May 16th. Now to my question.....Would she temporarily gain weight during ovulation. I weighted her at the end of May then again a couple days later and she had gained 6 grams. (the scale is in proper working order) Today we tried feeding her (she refused again) and weighted her and she had lost weight, she is now back down to her weight she was at the end of may. Could someone please explain to me the ovulation process, what happens to the female's body when she goes thru this.

Hi there,

Coincidentally, BP weight gain during ovulation was the topic of my son's science fair project this year. We weighed 10 non-feeding ball pythons every other day, all through breeding season (male and female). We found a weight fluctuation of around 2-8 grams that seemed random and was no doubt based on fluid intake and defecation. All snakes, including those building follicles, saw a gradual decrease in weight (very gradual) over the study, most less than 20 grams in 10 weeks.

My son's hypothesis was that ovulating femals would gain weight during ovulation (after all, they balloon way up!)...WRONG! Of the three females that ovulated during our study, not a single one gained weight during ovulation, even when they were at their biggest. Our conclusion was that weight gain was not an indicator of follicular development and that snakes did not gain any predictable or appreciable amount of weight during ovulation.

I hope this helps, Christy

Was this your son's project, or yours?