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She laid 12 fertile eggs on April 23 - and all hatched by June 15.

I put her with the male again but never observed copulation. She shed on 6/12 - does she look gravid to you guys?

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Peter Jolles
East Coast Colubrids
www.eastcoastcolubrids.com
peterjolles@eastcoastcolubrids.com

np

Howdy, how much and how often does she eat? She looks quite thick near the tail end to me. I have a Nigritis like her, and she shed about a week ago. I put the male in again last night and I could not get a good look it is my guess that he bred her, and it was a very calm lock up if he did. No chase, no biting, no coiling in a ball or any of the crazy stuff we sometimes see. If you have your doubts reintroduce your male and see what happens. Tom Stevens

... she ate 4 mice last Sunday morning. However, she has had bowel movements since. The problem is that I cannot feel any eggs. It has only been 5 days since her shed and she usually goes about 15 to 20 days from pre-lay to shed.

That being the case, if she was gravid - where are the eggs now? I have talked to other breeders and they mention the eggs "dropping" through the oviduct in preparation for the snake to deposit them - but when does that happen.

I guess the eggs could be developing in her and, and being 10 to 15 days from being laid, could still be too small for me to feel? I think of them like grapes on a grape vine; absorbing that last bit from the mother.

Tom what do you think?
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Peter Jolles
East Coast Colubrids
www.eastcoastcolubrids.com
peterjolles@eastcoastcolubrids.com

I go through this every year with a female or two. This is why I constantly reintroduce the male no matter what. If the female violently refuses him I remove him immediately and assume she most likely is gravid. If they court or she seems OK with him being after her I leave them be and see what happens. Last year I was fooled 3 times thinking I just did not feel much of anything in the snakes, and they all laid perfect and even large eggs. It should be noted that when the eggs were laid they felt so solid I wondered how I did not feel them just a few days before hand? My year is a little slow so I am really trying to get a grasp of what is going on and it just aint as easy to figure as I had hoped LOL. A guy I trust 100% as far as opinions told me there is no harm in letting a male breed a gravid female....so when in doubt I always put the male in numerous times. I should also mention I do attempt to get sperm samples from males to see if they're shooting blanks or loaded with viable swimming thingies. And even then,.....I still can not resist to introduce a male numerous times to his mate. Better safe than sorry. Hope this helps, Tom Stevens

You and bluerosy are very helpful on this forum.
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Peter Jolles
East Coast Colubrids
www.eastcoastcolubrids.com
peterjolles@eastcoastcolubrids.com

Always glad to help, and for the record Rainer has also helped me out too, as did many others. I enjoy participating but it can bite you in the rear occasionally if you do not word your senteances properly. That is why I always try to make it clear that what I type is what I have personally seen myself in my limited experience. I have been through a lot in the past 30 years of keeping snakes and 5 years of breeding them and some of the hassles burned a hole in my wallet. But the fact is saving a sick snake for me was was awesome as seeing hatchlings come out of the egg. In closing I have to mention guys I know who have been helping me out and who have been breeding snakes for many many years often say, "hmmmmm I am not sure???", and that is why breeders must try to mix things up once in while to improve thier results. I hope we both get more eggs from our "maybe she is gravid" snakes LOL Tom Stevens