Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When I went into my local pet shop today ( they know nothing about reptiles) they came to me as the only one they knew that knows about snakes with a problem one of their customers has. He bought a wild caught ball python that he says is very fat. He took it to a vet (who also knows very little about snakes) and the vet told him there is a good chance the snake is gravid. I have been studying about breeding ball pythons and bought the vid and all; but my snakes have another year before they are ready to breed so I have no exp. I am expecting a call from this guy soon, what should I look for to tell if it is gravid and what do you think the chances are that if it is gravid that any of the eggs are viable? any help you can give would be appreciated. Thank you.
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1.0 100% het albino ball python
0.1 normal Ball python
0.0.1 uromastyx (Styx)...he is a rescue

Well from what youre explaining the female seems to be gravid. Even though you say your female is a year away from the breeding weight you wanted them on, it is not uncommon for yearling female balls to become gravid. This usually would happen in the wild or possibly when the wild caught female is being kept with other ball's, possibly male balls. Also sometimes some people can get confused when they see a snake that they think is gravid and then find out the snake is very hefty or could have just ate some ones cat, or a very big rodent such as guinea pigs, jumbo rats or teddy bear hamster.
Also... you might wanna tell us what kind of weight you think the female should be at before it can breed. Although its not healty for the female, some have been known to drop egg's at 800 grams.

glad to help

The snake is not mine, nor have I yet seen it. I was simply informed by a friend who worked at the petshop that this person had come in to inquire what he was to do with the snake. I offered my phone number to attempt to help this snake as the new owner as no idea how to care for a gravid female or the eggs that will follow. My female is not WC nor has it been in an enclosure with a male after an age of 3 months.
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1.0 100% het albino ball python
0.1 normal Ball python
0.0.1 uromastyx (Styx)...he is a rescue

Here's my advice.

1. Find an experienced reptile vet and suggest the owner take the snake to that vet. An experienced vet can usually tell by looking and feeling the snake, if not, an x-ray should show any developing eggs if they've started to shell. (Handle carefully, support the back 1/3, and travel in a well-padded and warm box). Minimize stress at all times.

2. Assume it is gravid until confirmed by a vet or very experienced python keeper. Follow care guidelines for gravid balls in the handbook etc. Since it appears very large, it is likely a month or less from clutching. (Though if housed with another snake, it could have just mated and be in the ovulation swelling stage, though that goes away after 24-32 hrs).

3. Try to find a local (or regional) herp club (via kingsnake's organizations link, adoption/rescue groups link, or a net search). They can probably suggest someone in the area that is experienced and probably a vet as well. If you can't find a vet in the phone book, try the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians http://www.arav.org/

4. Chances are if she is gravid, the eggs are fertile. However, they should be removed as soon as they are laid due to stress on the wild caught female. (She may also reject them or roll them around, killing the embryos, also due to captivity stress). The female will need to be fed very well after clutching.

5. As to what to look for in a gravid female, the back 1/2 may be a bit larger then the front, getting progressively larger the farther back then tapering off to "normal" at the vent (see below). There might be subtle bulges, but it could also be stool or muscles. Do NOT squeeze along her belly, you could damage the eggs and hurt her. Only a professional should do that. Generally, it seems that the area around the vent, where the "claws" are, will be a little puffy looking (the "claws" kind of stick out a bit) and can be seen when looked at attentively. She doesn't need to be held to look for this last clue, just looked at closely. However, a bad case of gas can cause the same puffiness. Different females look different when gravid based on their build when they became pregnant, how many eggs they are carrying, and how they carry them.

My female lines them up along her body to develop and barely shows until the last 4-5 days before she clutches, when the eggs move down. I spend about a month and a half after *the shed* wondering if she is really pregnant or not. She doesn't show at all before that. It's nerve racking. (She hurt herself this year, I can't figure out how, and the stress of treating the injury caused her to reabsorb her eggs. I had my vet x-ray her to be sure. Very disappointing.)

Basically, at this point, the only way I think you (or the owner) could be sure is with a trip to a reptile/exotic vet and probably an x-ray. (If she's not pregnant and it's some other problem like gas or a bad case of worms, the vet can identify that too and treat it.) The vet trip and x-ray will NOT be cheap (probably between $60 and $90).

I'm not sure if this has been helpful or not, but I hope so.

Siri Lin

Thank you for the advice. I wish there was a good reptile vet around here but the only one we had that was very good left the area. I still have not heard from the owner of the snake, so I have no new information. The guy took it to a vet and the vet told him it might be gravid. So either the vet didnt know enough or the guy refused to pay for an x-ray.
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1.0 100% het albino ball python
0.1 normal Ball python
0.0.1 uromastyx (Styx)...he is a rescue

Weigh it to check if it is over a 1200 grams or more because that is the least it can weigh. If it isn't then the snake probably has a disease in the digestive track and some of the food is being clogged up. Check for feces(poo)

The "gravid" snake weighed in at just under 600grams... it was a bit weak and I spent 3 hours going over things they should do to fix the probs with their enclosure. I also gave them this website as you people in here taught me 90% of what I know from ball pythons. With out support of this website and the posters on this forrum I can honestly say I would not have a ball python right now. Any reptile Vets looking for a place that needs one? haha again thank you all for the help and quick responces.
-Alex
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1.0 100% het albino ball python
0.1 normal Ball python
0.0.1 uromastyx (Styx)...he is a rescue