Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went through and checked my snakes Saturday night and saw my female king of unknown origins out on the crawl as she has been for days. This is the king I asked for opions on before as to if she was a cross or just different looking. I got mixed answers and still don't know what to think. Anyway back to the story, she has been doing the frantic pre-lay search for a good spot to lay. So seeing her out was not really different except she was half the sized of the last time I saw her. Not legth wise of course but girth. She had layed her eggs and had not skipped a beat. What got my attention was she tried to bite me through the glass. I was doing something else and she went after my hand like she always does when she is hungry. I have not feed her and won't for about two weeks to try to keep her from doubleing. She is too small for two clutches this year but I think with her appetite she will be and then some next year. I would say in my collection about 90% of the females sit on their eggs and go into shed after they lay. It is always strange to see a female out on the crawl right after laying.

So how many of you out there see this in your females? What percentage of your snakes are out on the crawl right after laying? I am just curious.

Thanks Jason

Here she is in the sun

Very Nice snake Jason... let me know when youre babies hatch... I'd take a similar patterned female off your hands. what did you breed her to?

~ZF

Zenny you will be the first person I contact. I picked up a trio of snakes that were all from the same clutch. I bred her to her brother from that clutch. So if they are crosses I should see some babies from both of the parent snakes I think. I am going to sell them as crosses just to be safe even though I don't know their history beyond that they are clutch mates. In case you are wondering the third snake was female and she got out of her bag when I moved and I have never seen her since. She was the only snake out of 200 that got out. Here is her mate.
Thanks Jason

Ah crap wrong pic. That is a better pic of the female. You can see the pink on her sides a little. Kinda, not really, but its there. I think I ereased the pic of the male but I will try to get another one soon. Here is one of my missing female in case you see her.
Thanks Jason

Very Nice.. i may even take a pair off your hands... real bummer about that female... hopefully she's in a good place. i think i'm running out of space!!!! but you know (obsessive compulsive disorder!) LOL

Keep me posted...

~ZF

i think i'm running out of space!!!! but you know (obsessive compulsive disorder!)

Aren't we all LOL

You hope she is in a better place. Shoot I got a notice that the building I am in is infested with rats. I have not seen any sign of any. Its at the other end around a dinner that its bad but I think thats where she is. In heaven man. I live in one of those old buildings with big pipes comeing out of the floor that go all through the building. Its a maze of tunnels. Yeah she is in a better place. The dinner is pretty nice from what I hear so she is eating gormet fed rats. LOL
Later Jason

What got my attention was she tried to bite me through the glass. I was doing something else and she went after my hand like she always does when she is hungry. I have not feed her and won't for about two weeks to try to keep her from doubleing. She is too small for two clutches this year but I think with her appetite she will be and then some next year.

Jason
I would feed her since she is out crawling and looking for food.

I usually feed my females 5 large mice after they lay. Most females will not take food immediatlyt after laying so your female must be real hungry to want to eat.

Alos are you afraid she will double clutch because you house her with a male or because of sperm retention.

IMO I think you should feed her as many mice as she will eat and don't worry about the double clutching!

I had a problem with a corn that I had that almost triple clutched on me in her third year. She was one of three males I picked up for resale and before I could sell them I found one of the brothers mateing the other. They were slow fed and I did not feel the corn was big enough for the first clutch. So when she laid I feed the crap out of her and she dropped another clutch and I feed like mad again. She then ovulated for the third time but for some reason did not lay. She held almost fully formed eggs for a whole winter into the spring. I could count by sight 12 eggs. 31 days after I introduced a male that spring she laid 12 eggs and I fed like mad and she drop another clutch to my dismay. This poor corn just kept on produceing eggs.

I had in the mean-time asked around and got the same answer from a few different sources. When I started pounding food in this snake to try to put some weight on the poor thing she was responding to the abundance of food naturally by doing what evolution has taught her. When food is plentiful reproduce, when it is not try to reproduce if you can manage. If you feed a snake right after it lays you are inviting it to lay more eggs. A week or two with out food will not harm a snake but going for a second clutch can kill a snake. I have gone back on my records (what little I keep) and notice that alot of the snakes that I noted as thin after laying doubled for me because I fed them more than normal after they layed. I lost one snake last year to a second clutch I did not want and from now on if the snake is thin or in its first year I am taking at least a week off of feeding. You have been doing this a long time I am sure you have noticed this even if you did not pay attention to it. I noticed it but it did not register until after someone else pointed out why it was happening. Just my .02
Thanks Jason

I have had second clutches from very small females but never had them die or cause any ill health because of it. In my experience a third clutch is unusual from small females.

Egg retention can happen at any age/size. Matter of fact I have had egg rentention in large females and never in a small female that I can remember. Your experiences are obviously different.

The female that died on me last year regurged all her meals after the second clutch. Another female was very thin and was haveing problems until about a month ago. I like my snakes to much to treat them like I did last year. I got more into getting eggs than takeing care of my animlas and pushed a few snakes that should not have been bred. Somehow I turned myself into a guy in the biz with the wrong mentality. I just don't want to make that mistake again. It happens to alot of people. I just needed to recognize and correct the situation. Also I did not realize at the time that power feeding a snake can raise the fat content and make them double clutch.
Thanks Jason