The countdown begins...

[Lolo76]

I posted a few weeks ago about Mona ovulating, and like clockwork she had her pre-lay shed tonight. So that's approximately 27 days until eggs, right? Everything else looks good, she's nice & fat with a protruding spine etc... so now what? I'm still getting the incubator finished, but it should be ready soon, and my friend is building me a rack this month.

Is there anything I need to do for Mona, in terms of husbandry and care? She was dying to come out for a "stroll" tonight, as she's usually very active and sociable, but I don't want to mess with her too much. Or can I let her go about her normal routines? I was also trying to get a weight on her, but can't seem to find a good method... she's at least 2700g, and I can't find anything big enough to put her in (that still fits on the scale). Anyway, I'm just a nervous grandma-to-be stressing out - so any words of encouragement or advice would be appreciated.

Some pictures of the big mama...

[Lolo76]

Oh, and as for Nerissa (the other gal I bred), I think she ovulated today... she hasn't eaten in so long it's hard to tell, but this noticeable lump wasn't there yesterday! Whaddya think?

[jsmorphs2]

For Mona, there is really nothing special you need to do. I wouldn't handle her too much though. Just let her rest. As far a getting a weight in her you could put a plate on your scale to create a large base then put her in any bowl or tub on top of the plate. Write down the weight and put her away, then weight just the plate and bowl/tub, subtract from first number = snakes wight.

Can't really tell form the pictures if your other girl in ovulating. But the way she is laying makes me think it could just be building. She will stretch out straight in her tub when she ovulates. She could be at the beginning though. I would check her every few hours.

[SlitherinSisters]

That first girl looks really thin to me. My girl is only 2000 grams and this is what she looked like at day 25-after prelay shed. Notice how thick and full she looks. She was so stretched from the eggs you could see her skin between her scales. Also, the protruding spine usually doesn't happen till closer to laying. In this picture you can see that it's starting to protrude, but didn't get really pronounced till a couple days before she laid.


Maybe it's just the angle of the picture, but to me she looks thin??? The second female looks lumpy, so maybe she's building. If you put an empty tub on the scale you can reset it to zero-all scales do this-then put her in to weigh her.

[Lolo76]

That first girl looks really thin to me. My girl is only 2000 grams and this is what she looked like at day 25-after prelay shed. Notice how thick and full she looks. She was so stretched from the eggs you could see her skin between her scales. Also, the protruding spine usually doesn't happen till closer to laying. In this picture you can see that it's starting to protrude, but didn't get really pronounced till a couple days before she laid.

She just shed yesterday, so she's still a month+ from laying... she was over 2700g last time I tried to weigh her, so she's definitely not thin! She had a clear ovulation 2-3 weeks ago (I'll repost the photo below), so this has to be her pre-lay shed - right? Maybe it just takes a week or two for the real fatness to be obvious. She is super heavy, though, compared to how she felt before ovulating.

Taken on 4/24 - and she hasn't eaten since 3/25, fyi.

[Lolo76]

Can't really tell form the pictures if your other girl in ovulating. But the way she is laying makes me think it could just be building. She will stretch out straight in her tub when she ovulates. She could be at the beginning though. I would check her every few hours.

Thanks for the input! I think she's probably just building too, so maybe I'll introduce her mate (Toby) again. I was having some doubts about even letting her breed, due to her feeding issues... might be too late to change my mind, though!

[SlitherinSisters]

Taken on 4/24 - and she hasn't eaten since 3/25, fyi.

Ok yeah, she's nice and thick! That is so weird how thin she looked in those first pictures! Is she pretty long?

Good luck with her! Hopefully she doesn't make you wait till day 53 like mine did!!!

[Danounet]

Congratulations!

[Boanerges]

That's awesome!!! Congrats!!!

[Lolo76]

Ok yeah, she's nice and thick! That is so weird how thin she looked in those first pictures! Is she pretty long?

Yes, she's nearly 5ft long, so I guess her weight is more evenly distributed... she's just thick and curvy, not fat.

Good luck with her! Hopefully she doesn't make you wait till day 53 like mine did!!!

Thanks! And yeah, I can't believe how late your girl was... I'd kill Mona if she made me wait 53 days, LOL.