Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

This is a post I posted in the sand boa forum, but I thought I would see what you all think too.

Just curious if resorbtion is common place. I have been working with Kenyans for 6 years or so and this is the first time I believe it has happened to me. I had 2 females that I was expecting babies from. One droped about 2 months ago...the other I figured would drop soon after. But nothing...a couple weeks ago, while doing my rounds, the female I was still expecting babies from had "lost all her weight" (Over about 1 week). There where no slugs or any other "signs" of birth. I have read of females eating slugs...but still figured I would of found something. Any ideas or experiences would be great...interesting stuff!!

Thanks,
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Chris Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps

Chris,
It is not physically possible for a snake to absorb an embryo once it has started to develop. The swelling you noticed earlier was probably the formation of egg follicles. These egg follicles can be absorbed if they do not develop further into mature ova. This occurs when there is no stimulus from a male to cause them to proceed with their development. Once the ova become mature or after they move into the oviducts for fertilization, they cannot be absorbed by the female. At that point, if fertilized, they will develop and be expelled as neonates or eggs at the time of birth or laying. If the ova are unfertilized, they will be expelled as unfertilized shelled eggs, or unfertilized ova or "slugs". Additionally, you are correct in that it is fairly common for boids of the genera Eryx and Eunectes to ingest unfertilized ova.

Kelly