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HELP PLEASE pregnant ??????

J

joanne25

New member
hi i have 2 corns, one classic and one amel about 2 yrs. they was housed together when i got them (thought they was 2 males but now know got 1 female 1 male), i split them last week when my other tank came, i know co habit is a bad idea after reading on here and watching buzz(the male) harass poor chomp like a dog on heat :( . i am worried about chomp as she hasnt eaten in a month but wondered if the stress of having buzz constantly pester her has put her off her food or that maybe she is pregnant and that is why she dosnt want to eat ??
how will i know if she is pregnant ?? i have decided to put a lay box in her tank and just see what happens is this a good idea ? and how long can they go without food or should i just keep offering her it and see
im new to snakes to any advice would be much aprreciated thanks
 
Yeah stress can definitely cause the snake to stop eating. Most the time pregnant females will eat until they can't pass any stool because the eggs in them are too developed, usually you can see bumps along her lower body or even feel them if your handling her. It's a good idea to provide the lay box, even if she isn't ready to lay it will still be a comfortable familiar spot for her when/if she does lay.

P.S how big are these snakes?
 
they are about 4ft long the male weighs 256g and the female 268g i know this isnt the ideal weight for them to breed and that they arent the right age either but they mated before i could split them, they have been seperated for about 4 days now and im gonna see if chomp will eat at the weekend. would smaller mice be better for her at the mo or should i just stick to the same size she has been having ??
 
deffinitely try a couple smaller ones and if you absolutely have to you might try to tempt her with a couple of live pinks or fuzzies (they can't hurt her and may perk her appetite. When you handle her can you feel any lumps at all in her lower half? Does she seem swollen at all? She may just not be interested in eating because of the season, I have heard of some females going on hunger strikes like the males do. Just be sure not to bother her too much especially if she sheds. After she sheds try to leave her alone as much as possible so she can rest and get ready to lay if he suceeded in breeding her.
 
thanks i will grab some fuzzies on sunday and try her on them instead. i cant feel any lumps but she is swollen a little on her lower half. she is not very active at the moment prefering to stay in her hide but when she does venture out i can see her head starting to dull so am expecting her to shed soon, so will put a lay box in her viv and see what happens. shall i just keep offering her food every couple of days ?? she is a slim snake and i have heard they can lose alot of weight when they lay , im just worried cos she hasnt eaten in a month and would hate anything to happen to her
 
Hopefully she'll be a LOT less stressed on her own and she'll start eating for you. Keep in mind though that when a snake is offered food too often, it can actually perpetuate a hunger strike because the snake will start associating food offerings negatively.
If she doesn't accept the next mouse you offer her, wait a week instead of trying to feed her every day. I'm not sure how often you are attempting to feed her, I just wanted to make sure you know now to space out food offerings.

Muscle tone is about as essential to a Corn's readyness to breed as is actual grams. For example, a 400gram flabby female may have problems, whereas a smaller snake who is very fit might fare the experience better. Hold your female and feel her stomach. Is it squishy or firm? If it's squishy you may have problems down the road. Try to exercise her in order to build up as much muscle as possible before she has to push those eggs out. An effective method of exercising can be watching your snake carefully as they crawl up and down the stairs.

Also, do research!! I am by no means an expert on pregnant females, I am not a seasoned breeder. There are many here who are though and who can help you along the way.

Although this isn't the most ideal situation, it sounds like you're doing everything you can to make it right. Thanks for coming here and posting your problem honestly. Remember that you can always come here to ask a question. Also, the search function can be highly useful in a time like this. There have been many threads like this one before.

Good luck, and keep us posted on the status of the female!
 
Jessicat offered great advice except one thing, if she is indeed going into her prelay shed you want to leave her alone at least 2 weeks to be sure if she lays or not. At this point its too late to exercise her in prep for laying. She may just be ovulating though so if she slims down after shedding that is all it was and you got lucky. But if she does not you may need to take her to a vet. Please keep us posted.
 
thanks for the advice. i offered her a mouse on sunday and will try again this sunday with some smaller ones, i had read on here to leave it a few days before offering her food again. i handle both of them everyday (except when they have been fed ) i have young kids so like my corns to be used to being handled. both have a very gentle nature (kids ans corns lol ) i have tried to get the female to venture onto the furniture but she prefers to be incontact with who ever is handlng her. her tummy is firm and not flabby so hope that helps her ? if she does shed do i leave her totally alone no food and handling ?? thanks again for all ur help and will deffo keep u up dated on my girl x
 
Well, she will probably shed if she had gone blue, its just that we don't know if its a prelay shed or just a regular one. I am hoping a regular one for your sake. Hatchlings are much more difficult to deal with than kittens or even puppies. Mostly because you have to get them to eat where as the other two would be eating like piggies from the get go. If she feels firm that is a very good sign. One thing many females have happen before laying, is her back smooth with a slight indent on top or has it gotten pointy kinda like the spine is showing? Usually before they lay this happens and just means the body is preparing to push out the eggs, not that she is thin. My darkling girl I bred this year has developed this sign so I went ahead and gave her a laybox even though she has not had her prelay shed yet. Good luck!
 
went out this morning and got a lay box for her put it in and she went streight to it, im hoping to thats its just a regular shed to, didnt get my corns for breeding ( havnt got the equpment to deal with eggs) but what will be will be :) im lucky that where i get my mice from the owner has been breeding corns and other snakes for over 30 yrs and has offered to take any eggs and hatch them for me, as the idea of throwing the eggs (which i was told by another corn owner) really dosnt feel right. so hopefully what ever happens it will all work out (fingers crossed) thanks again for the advice :)
 
Be very careful that you agree terms with the breeder. The market for Corns both in the UK and the US has been very slow over the last 18 months.

If the breeder has just offered to hatch the eggs for you - not to care for the hatchlings and then sell/rehome them - then you need to consider the situation. Feeding them will cost money (the way I do it, each needs to take three feeds in a row before they're sold) and if they stay with the breeder, you'll need to know whether you're expected to pay for that or contribute.

It's the selling/rehoming that's likely to be the most difficult, so if you need them to do that as well, you should make that clear to them now. If you just hand over the eggs and then have nothing more to do with them, then that's going to be a weight off your mind. If the breeder expects any more than that, then I honestly recommend that you put any eggs in the freezer and then throw them.

From personal experience, being left with 15 extra mouths to feed for a potentially unlimited time, is a worrying and expensive business. Bringing unwanted snakes into the world feels worse to me than throwing the eggs. I know because I've been there (although I didn't have time to plan ahead and avoid it, as you do).
 
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