Reptile & Amphibian Forums

say my female bred on dec. 16th, when should i expect eggs?

That is really hard to say. Bloods will breed several times until the female ovulates, which isnt always noticed by keepers either. Mine will quit feeding once they ovulate though and then I just wait for them to shed. That is when I start counting days, they will usually lay 20 to 30 days after their prelay shed. My bloods breed fairly regularly this time of year but my female usually doesnt ovulate until feb/march sometime.
It is a very hard time of year to be patient but that is what we all have to do! It Sucks!
Just make sure she has a nest box after she sheds next if she isnt eating and you should be good to go, she will get pretty restless and start rolling around in her nest box a day or so before laying.
Good Luck!
Chris

>>say my female bred on dec. 16th, when should i expect eggs?

Well, there are a whole lot of variables that can effect the final outcome.

My Borneo's for the past two seasons:

They bred on and off from December through February.

The females peak ovulation was 03/16/04 and 03/18/05.
Egg deposition was 05/03/04 and 05/06/05.
First in each clutch to hatch: 07/04/04 and 07/06/05.

I was surprised to have nearly identical dates for all observable events (pretty neat actually).

She basked on the heat tape pretty much all the time until the ambient temps were warm again (85 during the day and down to about 80 at night).

Also, on both ovulation events, I could not see a very distinct 'swell' (as I do with my Ball Pythons), but she let me know what was going on by simple refusal of food and the way she curled her tail. I guess there is certainly some physical distress for ovulating pythons too and each time she formed and held an interesting 'curl' with her tail (see pic).

Hope that helps some.

Matt

She's purdy. Nice color and pattern.
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Thanks, Rich. In person she is a little 'different' looking. Hard to explain, but it leads me to think she may be the 'key' for where the Ultra babies came from (got their genetics). It's an interesting puzzle!

Thanks!

Matt

>>She's purdy. Nice color and pattern.
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>>Support your local herp society
>>www.chicagoherp.org

Matt

Did you keep shed records. It would be interesting to see how the sheds coincided with fertilization, ovulation and deposition.

Steve
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Steve and Audrey Frist

www.GenesisHerpetoculture.com

5rings@Netscape.com

Hey Steve,

>>Did you keep shed records. It would be interesting to see how the sheds coincided with fertilization, ovulation and deposition.

No, I 'should' have recorded that, but simply did not each season. I can tell you the shed was 'textbook' and was right about 30 days to egg deposition. Maybe I'll track that this year if I get another clutch.

Matt
p.s. - They're breeding again tonight!