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Mysteriously Gravid?

S

sqwish1984

New member
Hi everybody, this is my first post, and I apoligize in advance for the length. I really need some advice about my corn snake, Lucy. My husband and I got her in December and it was estimated that she is 4-5 years old. She ate well at for the first couple of months, but then refused food for about three months. We took her to the vet, where the vet found that she was anemic, and she was treated for intestinal bacteria. She finally took a small rat after shedding in May, but hasn't eaten since then. This week, she was noticeably weak so we took her to the vet.

Apparently, she's gravid! This is a big surprise to us since we've had her for so long and she definitely hasn't been around any males. On the other hand, it would explain some of her behavior, such as not eating and being extremely active at times, searching around her cage. We are trying to figure out how this could have happened. Some of the theories we're throwing around are that she was gravid when we got her and now she's eggbound, that she was holding on to some sperm for a while before fertilizing the eggs, or immaculate snake conception. We're really stumped.

We're going to set up an egg box in her tank as soon as possible, but I'd really like to know what you all think of this situation. Is there anything else we can do? What could have caused this? Has anyone ever had anything similar happen? I really appreciate any information or advice you've got.

Thanks!
 
Sometimes females produce dud eggs... thats probably the case here. I wouldn't imagine any of them would be fertile. Just keep a lay box in with her and keep her comfortable.
 
Yeah that's very possible if you just got her in December that she saved some sperm from a prior mating.
Or she could be about to lay slugs..
Good luck, and sorry you'll have to scramble to take care of it.
Lucky for you all the info you could ever need is here on these message boards.
 
Good luck! I bet its just slugs - but its possible they could be good eggs!
And no need to apologize for the length - much longer posts have been written! :)
 
I've been known to write much longer posts! :)

Good luck with her! I'm betting on slugs, but as said, corns have been known to store sperm before fertilization.
 
Hey, thanks for the input. We'll try putting the box in tomorrow and see how it goes. How long should we wait to see if she lays eggs? If she doesn't should we assume she's egg bound? In any case, I'll update if there are new developments.
 
If she doesn't should we assume she's egg bound?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Sometimes when they ovulate, they can appear to be gravid (feel lumpy & display all of the behavioural signs of being about to lay). If this is the problem with yours, then the lumps (unfertilised ova) will just be reabsorbed into the body and she'll go back to normal. I have one who does this every year.

My money is on yours being about to produce a clutch of infertile eggs. I have another female who insists on laying a full clutch of eggs despite not being mated.

If they get eggbound, generally they will settle into their laying box and stay there as though they are about to lay. You should be able to see her making an effort to pass the eggs (muscular contractions or obvious pushing), but nothing will appear. Sometimes they can get part way through laying a clutch and run out of energy or encounter a particularly large egg that causes a problem.

Laying is a bit tricky to monitor, as checking on them can disturb them, causing them to stop laying and therefore become eggbound - a real Catch-22.
 
Has she had a prelay shed yet? Most often they shed and then lay within 7-14 days after that. Most of the time you'll see her get active in the egg box, pushing dirt or whatever you're using around and then staying in a spot. I would just periodically check by popping the lid up and looking.
 
We've got the box in there now, and she went in there last night but when I peaked in there just now it didn't look like she was in there. She did shed on Tuesday. I really just hope she does whatever she needs to do so she can start eating regularly again. She's been getting so skinny! So we should leave the box in there for a couple of weeks then?
 
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