Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I spent the last couple of hours scouring the internet for answers and finally decided to make a profile and ask you guys.

I have a milk snake (named Milkshake) who has refused to eat for about 6 weeks. She ate three mice at one time, (usual for her) leaving the fourth alone. I would put it in her cage for a couple hours every week but she still ignored it. The mouse finally died (natural causes?) and I thought Milkshake would be hungry. I got some more feeders Tuesday, but she ignored the one I put in her cage. I don't handle her as often as I should but last night I noticed she's HUGE!

Her belly is bloated and she's stretched like she just ate 3 or 4 mice. My first thought was she had infertile eggs inside her for some reason, spontaneously developing whether she breeds or not. (I know nothing about breeding, never planned on it.) But she's 'mushy'...that's the only way I can describe it. She feels like a water balloon covered in scales.

Is it time to make a vet appointment? Is this anything anyone has seen before?

When did you get her? (month and year)

Do you provide natural or artificial light?

Where in the country are you located?

Do you have a heating source?

Do you have any other snakes?

My first guess is that she's either gravid or ovulating.

-Rusty

I got her from a friend, five/maybe six years ago. She was about 12in then, but I don't have an exact age. Sorry, a friend at work gave her to me. She has a light above her cage, a 40watt soft white bulb, I turn it on infrequently, but her cage is in the living room so there's light from us being there. At night, the lights go out, I never leave her light on after sunset. She has a sticky-type heater under one-third of her cage, where her cave/hiding space is. She moves back and forth on her own, next to her water dish and back under her cave.

We live in Indianapolis. She's my only snake. I have a pet dog and four kids. I buy 3 to 4 feeder mice at a time, if she doesn't eat them all, I'll let them breed, make pinkies and then she'll eat them after her next shed. I unplug her heater Nov thru Feb, but still have it on now, thinking she needs to eat before she brumates.

What exactly is 'gravid?' I've tried to get all my questions answered online, but all the info relates to HOW to breed a snake, not what happens when you don't plan on it, or only have a female. (And actually, I'm not 100% certain she's female. The guy who gave her to me said he thought she was.)

The only thing that scares me is she got out of her cage in September for about a week. I found her skin in my daughter's room, then we found her behind the couch a couple days later. Now that I realize the dates, she hasn't eaten since before she got out....so its been 8, maybe 9 weeks since she's eaten.

Any idea what's going on?

Gravid = pregnant, lol. Wow, so....unless there's a magical milk snake living behind my daughter's dresser I don't know about, there's no possible way she could be pregnant.

My initial thought was something...her getting loose/being away from her heater maybe, caused her to develop eggs with the hope of getting fertilized. I always thought snakes weren't that far off from chickens....they lay an egg whether there's a rooster involved or not. Right?

Well, I hope someone else can chime in here.

I have had Iguana's lay eggs (like chickens) but I've never seen snakes do that.

However, I know of a Water Moccasin at the Reptile Discovery Center that gave birth to one leucistic baby a few years ago (maybe two). No male was introduced.

There are also other snakes that can reproduce without having a male...so your snake could be very unique if she is indeed female and has fertile eggs.

I would search for a reptile vet in the area. If you can't find a vet that specializes in reptiles, I would use EXTREME caution with consulting a generic vet (just my opinion). A sonogram could reveal eggs very quickly. It could also be a bacterial infection in her/his lower intestine. There are just too many questions that I can't offer and answer to without seeing the snake or knowing it's sex.

I would not turn off the heat and if she goes into a shed soon, you'll need to provide a large nest box filled with moist sphagnum moss.

If she does lay eggs, it should happen between 10-21 days after her shed.

-Rusty
http://reptilediscoverycenter.com/

of snakes "cycle" and lay infertile eggs. Everything from milks to corn snakes. It really sucks when you're planning to give a breeding female the year "off" and she ovulates, anyway.

And a gentilis photo to ponder:

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-Cole

VERY different looking Cole!!!

What did it look like as a neonate?

My beautiful Milkshake is HUMONGOUS!! She keeps growing even tho she hasn't eaten in over 2 months. I cut a hole in a plastic dish w/lid, bought some sphagnum moss and dampened it. She shed four days ago and only yesterday seemed interested in her new mossy box. She's been in it ever since. Her heater is still on. She seems content.

So now, I just wait and watch? I'm assuming I take the eggs out as soon as she lays them, since they're no good. Will she be protective or territorial? I'm sure she'll be hungry! Is there anything else I need to know or do? Will she be ready to brummate immediately, I mean, after she has time to digest and poop?

I appreciate the help so far!