I'm very bad at forgetting to pass this on too. I knew about it fairly early on because I asked or read a thread, can't remember now, questioning whether there is any differences between male and female snakes that might make one a better pet and was told largely, no. That females can and do sometimes lay infertile eggs even when not bred and can sometimes have complications from that. Males can also sometimes have gender related health issues too, although that's even rarer, especially for a non breeding snake.
There must have been something weird about last year, alright! Something in the air. All of my adult or near adult snakes acted way weirder than normal around breeding season last year, though none of them were bred that year.
And my 5 year old unsexed Classic pet store corn Tavi did it's usual thing, went on a 50 to 60 day feeding strike in the spring, it had been doing that since it was 3 years old, which had about convinced me it was a Tavius. But that year it refused a bit longer than usual and started looking really skinny and dull and just not good generally and I was getting concerned. Then I went to offer food again one day and encountered this when I lifted the water bowl off it,
Which at least answered the gender/name question! She is a Tavia! She laid 14 eggs in total, found 11 to begin with and the others awhile later when I deep cleaned her cage. Oddly enough, some of them even looked nearly fertile.
After that, I started giving almost all of the snakes a humid hide at all times, even the males. They all seem to really like them and if any of the girls decide to surprise us again like that, they will have a better place to deposit them in future.
A humid hide is cheap and easy to make. Just take some kind of plastic tuppaware container with a lid, in a size that lets the snake feel snug in it, and fill it with damp sphagnum moss. You can cut an entrance hole in it with a box cutter but a $4 to $6 cheap soldering iron from Wal-mart or a tool supply store to melt the hole in it is so worth the money! Will take you a fraction of the time, swearing and frustration and will give you way smoother edges.
