Egg Bound Case, Experienced Opinions



I've had egg bound snakes in the past but this particular case is unique (to me).



I have a Snow ( 50% Het Hypo 25% Triple ) female that I attempted to breed last year for the first time.







She ovulated; I paired her up with a proven male, and prepared to have eggs laid (as usual) after the pre-lay shed.



However, no eggs were ever laid. She would not eat and over a period of time went thru another shed cycle… again, still with no eggs. (I kept an egg box prepared the entire time to ensure a proper nesting site was available if needed.)



I could still feel the eggs inside her, approximately 6, they seemed hard and some are irregular in shape.

But after the second shed, I offered her food and she ate! (a huge relief)







She continues to feed very aggressively, one of my best eaters.



Now the questions:

Do I try and breed her again this year in hopes that she passes the slugs?



Should I wait and just see if she passes them without being introduced to a male?

What other thoughts or experiences that you’ve had (both successes and failures)?



I don't want to visit a vet, because of my negative past experiences (those visits always turn out with a dead snake and a large vet bill). I would rather sell the snake as a great pet than to risk its life.

(It would be different if I had a local vet that was a herp specialist but I don't have that option.)



The reason I don’t want to explore the non-experienced vet option is…I had something similar happen a couple years ago. I was not aware of existing slugs (they were small) in another female I acquired. I bred her and she laid some good looking eggs and all of the old slugs:







Old slugs:





I ended up getting only one fertile egg out of the above.



This female had one large "new" slug stuck at her vent and long story short...she was killed by a local vet after a second round of anesthesia and she never recovered.



If you have any experience with this egg bound situation, I’d like to hear your experience.



Thanks,

Rusty

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