Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. I don't post on here too often since most of my collection consists of Kings and Corns, but Indigos are my favorite, and I have had a pair of Easterns for a quite a few years…So now I thought I'd share my story with my female Indigo and her problems. Hopefully this could help someone else in the future make a sound decision when it comes to Indigos and egg problems. I'm currently in Afghanistan and my wife is looking after my snake collection. I have decided to breed my Indigos for the first time back in Jan/Feb. A few days ago my wife noticed my female was very active and upon closer investigation, my wife saw this huge lump near her clocoa. She called me and I was surprised to hear that my female Indigo was actually trying to lay an egg - this late in the year - in August? Could this really be possible? Since so much time has passed I did not think that this snake would have any eggs in her, this late in the season. Heck, most Indigo breeders are having hatchlings already by now…. I told my wife to take the snake to a vet to make sure that this egg wasn't an old egg that may have been stuck in her longer than she may had thought. When she took the snake to the vet, we found out that she had THREE eggs in her, but the lowest one was also the biggest (over three inches long - pretty big for a young 5 foot Indigo). The vet also said that the egg still had fluid in it and it hasn't calcified yet, but it appeared that the snake had trouble pushing out the egg. The vet said take her home and see if she will push this egg out on her own within the next 48 hours, if not, bring her back. My wife took her home and soaked her in a tub of lukewarm water for about 20 minutes, set a huge nest box for her and put her back in the cage and waited. One day, then two days - Nothing…So this time she takes the snake to an experienced snake vet that my local vet referred us to. It seems now, that she is egg-bound as she cannot push this one huge egg out on her own, which blocks the other two, smaller eggs from dropping down….The vet recommends leaving the snake with her for a few days, while she tries some antibiotics and medicine (in an IV), to induce labor, so that she could possibly pass this egg on her own. If this does not work (within another two days), next will be aspiration and finally surgery as a very last resort….This is not looking good. I don't think she will pass this egg, as big as it is (after looking at the pics my wife sent me)….I know some Indigos are notorious for having problems passing eggs or just becoming egg-bound altogether. I have bred a Texas Indigo before (many years ago), and had great success: Six eggs were laid by my five foot female; One was a slug (from day one), but the other five hatched perfectly healthy. So I figured, why not try again, with a very healthy, unrelated Eastern pair that I purchased many years ago (my female is from Tony Carlisle and my male is from Rick Sladick) ….So now I guess it's my turn to have a bad experience….
Yesterday the vet calls and tells my wife that she has passed the big egg on her own and the other two have dropped down a little ways. I'm excited, as this is good news! But she still has two more to go…It seems that the medication HAS worked and at least she has laid that big egg. But, as of a few minutes ago, the vet has informed my wife that she still has not laid those other two eggs and she would like to keep her for a few more days and give her a little more medicine to once again induce labor. So, for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope for the best….I think (and hope), that she will lay these eggs because they are somewhat smaller than that first one….But I will keep you all posted! I know that the more information we share among us, wether it be good or bad or both, that it will hopefully make us all smarter in the long run and maybe even save a few Indigos. And with my love for Indigos, I figured that this is the least I can do. I want to thank some of you guys/gals, for sharing your misfortunes and successes on this forum. I know it has made me a little smarter! Here's the pic of the female (you can actually see where all three eggs are):

-----
"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Thanks for the post...we do indeed learn from others experiences. Quite a few who frequent this forum have endured similar, or know someone who has, so it is alarmingly common. Let us know how this turns out. The medicine for "inducing labor", is it oxytocin or something else? Be safe in your challenging part of the world...Vic

>>Thanks for the post...we do indeed learn from others experiences. Quite a few who frequent this forum have endured similar, or know someone who has, so it is alarmingly common. Let us know how this turns out. The medicine for "inducing labor", is it oxytocin or something else? Be safe in your challenging part of the world...Vic

Man, I feel your pain! I went through egg binding with my female 2 years ago. We aspirated 5 eggs.
I hope everything works out for you! How late in the year did you introduce your male to your female?

Thanks.
Reading about your misfortune and your female's very nice recovery/comeback...made me feel more optimistic about my female. By the way, CONGRATS on your babies this year. That is awesome!
I first introduced my male to the female around mid January and several times after that until about mid February. I was home for a couple of weeks in January and noticed that the female had no interest in the male during my first few attempts, so I would repeatedly separate him from her. But I believe mating occurred sometime in early February (after I was back in Afghanistan). My wife did not get to witness it, which is why I believe it happened in February...
As of today, I'm still waiting for her to lay the other two slugs.....Hopefully she will within the next few days.
-----
"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Thanks.
I will have to find out what medicine they gave her that helped her lay that first, huge egg.....And as of today, I'm still waiting and hoping she'll push out the other two eggs soon!
-----
"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Wow BlueKing I hope everything turns out ok for you and your beautiful snake. What kind of diet do you feed? I've talked to some big breeders the last couple of weeks and all they feed is rodents and don't have problems with egg binding at all. It's very confusing!!!!!

It IS confusing.....as you said. The last time I bred an Indigo (a Texas years ago), I had no problems, even though the female was barely over five foot she produced five perfect babies. But I fed her all kinds of stuff, since I was cheaper then: Rodents, lizards, and snakes including Western Diamondbacks and Copperheads....
This time around I have been feeding her Mice and very small rats only.......She's very healthy and still growing (a little over five feet), I have also fed my male the same diet since he was a hatchling and he's very healthy and over seven feet long.....
But then again, I was not home most of this year (I'm in Afghanistan), and there may have been things my wife or son may have missed, ie: Too cold, too warm, not enough light - who knows..... I know they do their best and I appreciate their help , but no one knows these snakes better than us, right?
-----
"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-