Reptile & Amphibian Forums

lastnight my female ball python shed. i have been putting a male in with her off and on just like you all have told me to do, three days in, three days out. im wondering if this shed is her pre egg lay shed? is it or is it too soon? the two hooked up on dec 30th..
also when a female swells up, how long does she stay swollen?
one more question.. tuesdays are when i clean out the cages, i picked up the female by her neck area with one hand and her tail in the other hand. is that okay? i set her down real slowlys and gently and that was it. is this okay?
thank you for your help

Ssam
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2.3 normals
1.0 04 het albino
0.1 IMG
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
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Have you seen her ovulate? Could be her pre ovulation shed or it could just be a shed - keep putting the male in with her - if they still mate then it's most likely she is not yet gravid as they generally lose interest afterwards. From what I've seen both my females were obviously swolen for about 2 days - its pretty hard to miss especially if you check on them often. If she is close to laying you should be able to run your hand down her and count the number of eggs inside of her.

As far as picking her up - always support the middle - otherwise you put a strain on them - this goes for all your snakes.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

11.42.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.1.0 Bredls Python (Smurfette)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
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