Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a female alterna that breed for the first time this year, after laying 7 eggs she appeared eggbound with the last egg just before the cloaca. after four days of waiting i had an experienced friend come over to help me. we were going to try to drain the egg so that it could pass. well she started massaging the snake before the eggs, massaging towards the cloaca. well apparently the egg had little to no shell structure and popped. a gooey nasty smelling ooze came out of the cloaca. i placed the snake on a paper towels in order to better observe her. i think the problem may have been a lack of calcium but am not sure. if you have any ideas on what the problem was please share. also, please share if you have any ideas of what else i can do to better care for this snake after this trying time. also, when should i start feeding her again?

thanks for the advice, and sorry for the misspelled words it is late.

mike leidner

the picture in the previous message is a couple years old. the snake it much larger than in the picture. i didnt want anybody thinking the snake was as small as she is in the picture.

thanks,
mike

I had this exact thing happen to my corn snake after she tried to lay her 14th egg (a record for her!). An egg that has ruptured inside the snake is about as bad as dystocia can get. Your snake will have an up-hill battle fighting a systemic infection that could quite possibly end up with a dead pet. I recommend a vet visit for this asap.

A few notes; Reptiles have amazing healing capabilities, but I do not say this to make light of the situation, but merely to offer you some good news.
The thing to remember with reptiles is that everything happens slowly. Infection spreads slowly, they get sick slowly, and they heal slowly. Optimum temperatures and husbandry help the immune system run at it's highest efficiency. Consider raising the warm side of the cage a few degrees and not cooling as much at night.

FYI my snake had a complete recovery and I have retired her from any future breeding. That last season she double clutched and laid another 11 eggs! She was so tiny after that! Under sedation I had flushed her cloaca with a dilute hibitane surgical scrub and removed any bits of egg and shell. A series of Baytril injections and pills followed.

Good luck with your snake
Ian