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Female May Need Help....

richm2778

richm2778

New member
Hi Guys,

My female laid her clutch of eggs last weekend. She is a large and heavy rat snake. Her clutch was 12 eggs, and I think four went south because I was away when she laid the eggs. Anyway, I have fed my girl 3 rat pups since last weekend. She anxiously gulped them down, but I did not want to overfeed her. I am concerned because she is looking very weak. Her body is hollow feeling, of course, but her skin looks bad and she seems a bit sluggish. If need be, I will bring her to the vet, but I wanted to check first if this is common behavior. Thanks for any help or advice you can provide!

Rich
 
Can you feel eggs still in her? I would give her a good soak in warmish water it'll hydrate her which she may need and maybe prod the movement of any left over eggs.
 
I have held her and she has no lumps at all. In fact, she seems super empty. She pooped today too. I will feed her again tomorrow, but only 1 rat pup. She'll get a nice soak later as well. Thanks for the advice.
 
I have a question. Is that how a female is supposed to feel after laying the clutch, empty? Is it sort of like how a squishy snake like a hoggy or a rosy feels???
 
Sounds like she is going into post lay shed. My corns had their clutches on 4-10 afterwards they looked like hell, dehydrated ect. they refused food and are currently in shed, they are coming out of blue and look a lot better. They will shed in a couple days and will resume feeding.
Laying those eggs is no easy task, figure it's the same as if a human were to have 10 kids with no c-section! Let her recuperate and shed. she will be good as new :)
 
If she's had 3 rat pups this week I would feed again in a few days and just make sure she is hydrated. I felt all squishy and weak after giving birth twice- she'll bounce back!
 
You said your snake was a large heavy rat snake. What kind of ratsnake? Some of the ratsnakes will mother their eggs for a while like a python does. They go through a period of lethargy after laying their eggs where they stay with the clutch. I have a large Taiwan Beauty ratsnake that stayed coiled around her eggs for 4 days after she laid. I finally took the eggs and put them in an incubator. She as coiled herself up in the water bowl and hasn’t moved for 3 days. I think that is pretty normal for ratsnakes.

If you can run your thumb down her belly and she feels empty, it is most likely because she is.
 
She is a Leucistic Texas Rat Snake. I have her in a smaller tub now, and she seems to be better. I think she just needed some rest. Also, I fed her a small rat yesterday and she took it. I think she needs to shed and then she'll be fine. She may even doubleclutch
 
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