Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This morning my female Eve had 23+ slugs. She started at about 7:30 and finished almost three hours later. She ate at least 12. I was not very optimistic about her pregnancy since she had'nt been cycled this year and no breeding was observed. But it would have been nice to see some little BRB's being born. However, it was really interesting to watch the labor and her feasting on the slugs (she ate the first as soon as it came out).
Pic of her chowing down

Close up of slugs

Hope you all see live ones this year.
Paul

That was a bunch of slugs. Snake breeding is very strange to me. You can do everything right and come up with nothing....AND do everything wrong and have a nice viable litter. It's bound to be better with the next one.

Linda
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When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the student is ready, the teachers appears.

I'd like to believe you about the next one being better but I think the young female is going to go through the same thing. Again, no noted breeding, no cycling, but she's been acting gravid like her mom. We'll see.
Paul

Paul,
...Sorry about the slugs. Was there any sign of small fetuses in them? I always look closely at them. There is more to be learned from our failures than our successes. When I have a big pile of them to look at I am always trying to figure out what I did wrong that caused them. Too cold, too hot, too something? No breeding observed? Perhaps just the presence and smell of males or their pre-courtship activities cause the females to produce "eggs"? I have had a whole bunch of slugs here over the years. 3 hours to deliver them is interesting. When I have a litter of all live babies they often get delivered in 15 to 30 minutes. When there are slugs in the litter it always takes longer. Sometimes many hours. Females that lay all live babies usually have no problems after delivery. Females that lay slugs sometimes have one or more slugs stuck in the oviducts and the results are not good if they do not get them delivered. After delivery I always hold the female in my hands and let her crawl so that I can try to feel if there are any that have not been delivered. There are probably lots of species that devour their slugs but we Rainbow breeders see it more than any other breeders that I know of. There is so much that we still have to learn about breeding these snakes.
Jeff

>>This morning my female Eve had 23 slugs. She started at about 7:30 and finished almost three hours later. She ate at least 12. I was not very optimistic about her pregnancy since she had'nt been cycled this year and no breeding was observed. But it would have been nice to see some little BRB's being born. However, it was really interesting to watch the labor and her feasting on the slugs (she ate the first as soon as it came out).
>>Pic of her chowing down
>>
>>Close up of slugs
>>
>>Hope you all see live ones this year.
>>Paul

.....I think several of my gravid ones are carrying slugs this year. They always seem like the slugs are in one large solid mass while live babies feel like soft individual round ping-pong ball size masses.
Jeff

>>Paul,
>>...Sorry about the slugs. Was there any sign of small fetuses in them? I always look closely at them. There is more to be learned from our failures than our successes. When I have a big pile of them to look at I am always trying to figure out what I did wrong that caused them. Too cold, too hot, too something? No breeding observed? Perhaps just the presence and smell of males or their pre-courtship activities cause the females to produce "eggs"? I have had a whole bunch of slugs here over the years. 3 hours to deliver them is interesting. When I have a litter of all live babies they often get delivered in 15 to 30 minutes. When there are slugs in the litter it always takes longer. Sometimes many hours. Females that lay all live babies usually have no problems after delivery. Females that lay slugs sometimes have one or more slugs stuck in the oviducts and the results are not good if they do not get them delivered. After delivery I always hold the female in my hands and let her crawl so that I can try to feel if there are any that have not been delivered. There are probably lots of species that devour their slugs but we Rainbow breeders see it more than any other breeders that I know of. There is so much that we still have to learn about breeding these snakes.
>>Jeff
>>
>>>>This morning my female Eve had 23 slugs. She started at about 7:30 and finished almost three hours later. She ate at least 12. I was not very optimistic about her pregnancy since she had'nt been cycled this year and no breeding was observed. But it would have been nice to see some little BRB's being born. However, it was really interesting to watch the labor and her feasting on the slugs (she ate the first as soon as it came out).
>>>>Pic of her chowing down
>>>>
>>>>Close up of slugs
>>>>
>>>>Hope you all see live ones this year.
>>>>Paul

Jeff,
Of the 9 slugs I checked out none had any signs of small fetuses. She had access to temps. between 92 and 70 and she moved around between 92 and 83 (same as she did when she produced three years ago). I do wonder about the presence of the males (now I think one of my holdback females is really a male) causing the females to produce eggs. I really have little idea about how the infertile ova develop; what initiates the process, why the snakes continues to nurture them when not viable. I assume that given the right conditions the female will ovulate without the presence of a male and I thought that the ova developed only after breeding attempts (slugs develop when male shooting blanks). Now that I've experienced this I want to understand it better. I'll be Googling.
I did'nt bother her after her ordeal but I'll check and see if I can feel any left over ova (she dropped the last two well after I thought she was done).
Thanks,
Paul

...Sorry about the slugs. Was there any sign of small fetuses in them? I always look closely at them. There is more to be learned from our failures than our successes. When I have a big pile of them to look at I am always trying to figure out what I did wrong that caused them. Too cold, too hot, too something? No breeding observed? Perhaps just the presence and smell of males or their pre-courtship activities cause the females to produce "eggs"? I have had a whole bunch of slugs here over the years. 3 hours to deliver them is interesting. When I have a litter of all live babies they often get delivered in 15 to 30 minutes. When there are slugs in the litter it always takes longer. Sometimes many hours. Females that lay all live babies usually have no problems after delivery. Females that lay slugs sometimes have one or more slugs stuck in the oviducts and the results are not good if they do not get them delivered. After delivery I always hold the female in my hands and let her crawl so that I can try to feel if there are any that have not been delivered. There are probably lots of species that devour their slugs but we Rainbow breeders see it more than any other breeders that I know of. There is so much that we still have to learn about breeding these snakes.

Well that's a bummer, they sure like to get us going don't they.I'll Have to tell you the pregnant dog story some time. Randy

>>Jeff,
>>Of the 9 slugs I checked out none had any signs of small fetuses. She had access to temps. between 92 and 70 and she moved around between 92 and 83 (same as she did when she produced three years ago). I do wonder about the presence of the males (now I think one of my holdback females is really a male) causing the females to produce eggs. I really have little idea about how the infertile ova develop; what initiates the process, why the snakes continues to nurture them when not viable. I assume that given the right conditions the female will ovulate without the presence of a male and I thought that the ova developed only after breeding attempts (slugs develop when male shooting blanks). Now that I've experienced this I want to understand it better. I'll be Googling.
>>I did'nt bother her after her ordeal but I'll check and see if I can feel any left over ova (she dropped the last two well after I thought she was done).
>>Thanks,
>>Paul
>>
>>
>>
>>...Sorry about the slugs. Was there any sign of small fetuses in them? I always look closely at them. There is more to be learned from our failures than our successes. When I have a big pile of them to look at I am always trying to figure out what I did wrong that caused them. Too cold, too hot, too something? No breeding observed? Perhaps just the presence and smell of males or their pre-courtship activities cause the females to produce "eggs"? I have had a whole bunch of slugs here over the years. 3 hours to deliver them is interesting. When I have a litter of all live babies they often get delivered in 15 to 30 minutes. When there are slugs in the litter it always takes longer. Sometimes many hours. Females that lay all live babies usually have no problems after delivery. Females that lay slugs sometimes have one or more slugs stuck in the oviducts and the results are not good if they do not get them delivered. After delivery I always hold the female in my hands and let her crawl so that I can try to feel if there are any that have not been delivered. There are probably lots of species that devour their slugs but we Rainbow breeders see it more than any other breeders that I know of. There is so much that we still have to learn about breeding these snakes.
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I don't care if the glass is half full or half empty !
I just want the full glass I paid for !