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Need help with strange behavior of a corn....

Colorfulcorns May 20, 2005 08:31 PM

I have an anerythiristic female that is constantly moving around the cage. This morning she laid one egg, that was a total shock because she doesn't even look gravid. The last time she ate was April 30th. Just in case I put a container in her cage with spagnum moss in it but she goes in then comes right back out.
Any ideas as to the cause of her behavior?????
Thanks,
Cory

Replies (5)

Chondubrid May 20, 2005 09:32 PM

well did you put her with a male to mate or what? if so, do you have any idea how many times they mated? Is the egg good or not? How big of a container did you put in there with the moss?
-----
Chondros and colubrids... my 2 favorite types of snakes!

"Life is hard. Life is harder if you're stupid." - John Wayne

Colorfulcorns May 21, 2005 05:34 AM

Yes she was in with a male but i didn't see them mate. One time there was a yellowish stain on the paper but that might have been feces. The egg looks good, its white and alittle over an inch long. I have it in an incubator just in case. The container is a 12 qt sterlite shoe box. It's big enough to hold 3 or 4 adult corns if you stuffed them in it.
I'll answer all questions, I want to know why she is acting like this.

SneakySnakes May 21, 2005 07:11 AM

The yellow stuff is most likely sperm. A very good indicator that your snake *has* mated. 1 egg sounds like quite unlikely. Did you damp the spagnum moss? She won't lay her eggs in dry moss as she's very well aware they cannot ever hatch under such conditions. I would remove the large water bowl and put a tiny one there for the time beeing as she may just lay them in the water and drown them.

I would strongly advice you visit a vet. They can tell if there still eggs inside of her and if she's 'egg bound'. If she is, she will die soon and suddenly! Better make sure.

Kel May 21, 2005 09:29 AM

Does the egg look fertile? Fertile eggs are white and plump. Infertile eggs are yellowish and tend to be more elongated.

Corns occasionally lay one or two infertile eggs a few days before laying a full clutch and this isn't necessarily a sign that she's eggbound. Moving around the viv sounds like she's still hunting for a suitable place to lay and hasn't settled down to the job yet.

When a snake is eggbound, she will show signs of distress. You should see her straining to pass the eggs even though none are being laid. In the later stages, she will be very still and feel limp if you pick part of her up. There will usually be a visible bulge in the area of the stuck egg.

As with any situation like this, please visit a vet if in any doubt.

Colorfulcorns May 21, 2005 02:56 PM

Yes i did dampen the moss before i put it in the cage.
She laid 2 more eggs so far today. These last to eggs are white and plump. The first one is the same color but just alittle smaller. As i said before she never even looked gravid not in the least. There was some rounding of rear half but there was no stretching of the scales like she had just eaten.
My other female is still eating and is packing on the pounds. Her rear half is noticable bigger than this ones.

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