Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When I checked on my Cornsnake this morning at about 10:30, she had laid three eggs, and there was a fourth right above her cloaca. I quickly covered her back up again, so as to not disturb her egg-laying, but noted that she didn't look well, and seemed like she'd been having trouble getting that egg out.

I left her alone for the next four hours, and checked on her again, expecting her to be done laying. Well, she still only had those three eggs, and the fourth looked in exactly the same position as before. She also looks very thin and weak, which is troubling because she's always been a great eater.

I don't know how long she'd been trying to lay that egg before I noticed. It may have been as much as 12 hours. But it looked like she wasn't going to get it out on her own, so I attemtped to manually remove it; I've had success massaging eggs out of another Corn before. But unfortunately it's not coming out, though I did get it much closer to her cloaca. I put her back into the eggbox, and left her alone again; hopefully my efforts were enough to help her get it out on her own. In the meantime, I had a friend call up a vet to see about Oxy injections. I know it's probably still a bit early for that, but I thought it's best to see a vet about it.

How long do you suggest I leave her alone before taking further action?

i went thru a simiular experience earlier the spring with my kingsnake.i went thru the regular steps with no results,on the 4th or 5th day i asperated the egg.i consulated with a herp vet (on the phone) and he told me you try the least invasive procedure that produces the results your looking for.i only asperated when nothing else worked and the snake was visiably going down hill.the warm water soaks didn't help,but they seemed to give some relief to the snake.feel free to contact me.

Oxytocin can do more harm than good. Aspirate the egg if it does not pass, and the rest will probably be laid without problems. Oxytocin will do nothing but cause problems if the egg is too big or the oviduct is twisted up. Also, don't worry about the eggs, they will not be any good now that she has not been able to pass them on time. If there is a twist in the oviduct, than palpating the egg twards her head may also help.

Good luck,
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CB

"Maybe the venom has gone to my head"

I had a King cobra eggbound for three weeks before she finally passed the remaining 23 or so eggs, so she may pass without any help at all, but it is better to be safe and try to help her out.
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CB

"Maybe the venom has gone to my head"

Just as we were heading out the door to take her to the vet, I saw she had passed the fourth egg. I thought she would probably be able to get the rest out now that the stuck one was out, so we rang the vet, and cancelled our appointment. We made another appointment for the next afternoon, just in case.

I left her alone again, and by the time I went to bed, she had laid 11 eggs. In the morning, there were two more, and only one remaining inside. Twelve hours later, the last egg was still in the same position as before, about 3-4 inches up from the cloaca. I massaged it further down, then put her head in her water bowl to get her to drink. She drank for a long time, and I think that gave her some extra strength and helped her get the last egg out. So now we have 14 healthy-looking eggs, and one female that is officially retired after just her second year of breeding.

..
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CB

"Maybe the venom has gone to my head"