i think im havin some babys

[newman]

1.how do i know she is pregnant?

2. im seeing the word gravid thrown around what does it mean.

3. when should i put the nest in?

ive done the research but now i would like personal opinions, and experience because i hope this will be my first clutch and i don't wanna mess it up.

 

[cowtownherper]

I am not the best person to reply to this post so , let me say this. If there is any way possible to go out and get Kathy Loves Corn Snake Manual it will answer any questions you could possibly have. Good luck with the eggs.

 

[newman]

thanks ill see if i can get it

 

[Amanda E]

1.how do i know she is pregnant?

2. im seeing the word gravid thrown around what does it mean.

3. when should i put the nest in?

Gravid is the term used for a pregnant snake.

You'll know she's gravid when she starts looking huge. You can also feel the eggs in her belly, sometimes even count them, if you let her crawl across your hand. She'll also possibly stop eating after a while or at least only want to eat smaller prey.

I put in the nest box when I see the female going opaque. She can use it to help her shed and she can get used to it so when she's done shedding she will automatically choose it (that's the hope at least) to lay her eggs in.

When she is really close to laying, I remove the water bowl to prevent her from possibly laying the eggs there. But obviously, you don't want to do this too soon, as gravid females seem to need a lot of water, at least in my experience.

 

[princess]

Great advice Amanda but I do something a little different with the waterbowl. I leave a small water bowl (it's a single portion soufflé dish) with about 1cm of water in the bottom which is checked at least 1-2 times a day. You don't want the female getting dehydrated and having trouble passing the eggs. I've heard about females stopping laying with 2-3 eggs to go and then being offered water, having a huge drink and then finishing the job. This way if by odd chance she does lay in the water dish (which is unlikely cos it'll be so small and seem quite unsecured compared to the lay box) then only a portion of the egg will be submerged so in the time between laying and you removing the eggs to put them in the incubator, they won't drown.

I ran this past a friend in final year vet science and he said that it sounds like a safe way to do it from his knowledge of the physiology of reptile eggs.

 

[newman]

thinks for the advice really because i knew nothing about the water bowl being removed she looks a little bigger but not much i let her run across my fingers yester day i didn't feel any eggs. so i hope im on the right track


in case anyone is wondering the the amel and thel snow on my avatar the amel is the male the snow the female!

 

[cowtownherper]

I didnt mean to blow you off by telling you to get The Corn Snake Manual, it really is worth its weight in gold. I can fill you in a little from my very limited experience. When your girl is gravid it will be very easy to see in the latter stages. According to the manual snakes will generally lay from 31 to 45 days after mating averaging about 39 days. They will usually have a pre lay shed one to two weeks prior to laying. So what i did this year was put the laying box in the tank about four weeks after the first mating. One thing to keep in mind is that the female can retain the sperm until she ovulates. My first eggs werent layed until 59 days after mating. I am assuming she didnt ovulate for two or three weeks after the mating. As I said before Im really not the person to be answering questions like this. I hope all the info is accurate. Again good luck with the breeding.