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Need comments -- Serp, Joe, Rich, Carol, anybody?

S

SnakeNutt

New member
This topic came up at a reptile store yesterday, when we were trying to determine whether one of their adult females was gravid or not (history of the snake was basically unknown, but she'd possibly been with an adult male). When palpating her underside, I could feel some small lumps, but they were not big enough to feel like decent-sized eggs, so I think she was possibly just ovulating. We tested her receptiveness by putting a male with her, who was very interested, and she ended up flagging her tail and acting receptive. We did not let the male breed her, however, as I wanted to breed her to one of my own males.

OK, so my basic question is -- if a female corn is receptive, does that mean she has NOT been inseminated already? I have bred horses for years, and I've had some mares that would continue to "show heat" and act receptive (at 4-week intervals) for a couple of months (one even for five months) even after she was ultrasounded and proven in foal.

Or, put another way, how long does a female corn continue to put off those "come and get me, big guy" pheromones after she's been bred? Or do those scent signals immediately shut off once a female has been inseminated?

Update -- I just put the female with my selected male (who is interested, but does not seem as aggressive about it as he does with females who I know are not gravid). And although she's "flagging" just a little, she's doing everything in her power to evade him. So, is it likely that she was recently bred and is still just putting off "left over, lingering" pheromones? Or is male snake like many male men -- doesn't care if she's pregnant or not (i.e., wants it anyway).
 
In my experience, females will breed several times to different males. The window on how long you have to breed them depends on the female. I have females that will breed as soon as they are finished with their post-brumation shed and will continue to breed up until pre-lay shed. On the other extreme, some other females have a very small window of a week where they are willing to breed, only letting a male in at that "perfect" time. On average, most of my females will breed starting about 2 weeks after post-brumation shed, and then start refusing about a week or two before they go back into shed. Keep in mind, some females will only breed to the males that aggressively pursue them, so just because she puts up a fight for the first half hour doesn't mean she won't breed. She's just seeing if he is good enough to keep up! :)
 
carol said:
Keep in mind, some females will only breed to the males that aggressively pursue them, so just because she puts up a fight for the first half hour doesn't mean she won't breed. She's just seeing if he is good enough to keep up! :)
Click to expand...

Hahahaha! Actually, that's how I chose my husband!

So, does what you said about mating up until pre-lay shed also go females that have not had a first clutch yet? I left the female in question in with my male for over an hour, and she never quit trying to evade him. I can feel lumps in her (can't tell if they're follicles or eggs), but she seemed willing one day and then completely disagreeable about the idea three days later.
 
SnakeNutt said:
Hahahaha! Actually, that's how I chose my husband!

So, does what you said about mating up until pre-lay shed also go females that have not had a first clutch yet? I left the female in question in with my male for over an hour, and she never quit trying to evade him. I can feel lumps in her (can't tell if they're follicles or eggs), but she seemed willing one day and then completely disagreeable about the idea three days later.
Click to expand...

She could just be playing with him too. I noticed that my male decided that he wanted to breed at one point and my female was running all over the cage to get away from him. After that, I saw her "teasing" him for a while, but he decided not to do anything. I seperated them for about a week or so, and put him back with the female (since they cohabitate) and since then, I have seen them lock up three times, and I have a feeling there was more than that while I was either at class or asleep. First it was just that the male was too lazy to do anything, then, when he finally got off his arse, it's almost like he can't get enough.

As far as wondering if your female is gravid or not, if she's looking just plain pudgy, then she's most likely ovulating. If you can see her spinal ridge, she's probably got eggs. I made this mistake this year, and didn't look for the spinal ridge, but she was pudgy to the point I thought she was going to explode. Now that I've seen them lock up, I'm noticing her spine starting to slowly stick out. I have some comparrison photos, but I need to get them trimmed for net usage before I post them here. I think I'll do that today, on this thread even.

P.S. I know I'm not Serp, Joe, Rich, or Carrol, but I hoped that I helped a little by sharing my experience this year. ;)

Alan
 
Female snakes are just like human females. Some will mate with anyone who is willing to try, and others will mate only once and with only a particular individual. And everything in between. They are ALL individuals and will all act differently. If someone can figure out the secret to understanding the receptiveness of a female snake and apply that to humans as well, they would make ZILLIONS!
 
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