How can you tell how many eggs?

[DC Reptiles]

I know some people out there have a pretty good idea of how many eggs their females are having. How do you guys tell? I've tried feeling for them but I dont know what I'm feeling for this is my first time breeding snakes. Roughly what size are ball eggs that might help give me a better idea of how many shes got. Heres a pic of her, she looks like shes gonna blow soon.

[llovelace]

Usually you can palpate, this takes practice of course, and easier prior to ovulation. There are instructional bids on YT.

[Freakie_frog]

Palpating them after OVY takes time and a gentle hand. Egg's POS feel like big marshmallows in the females, slugs are typically much smaller and slightly harder. As for the number typically I palpate when they get follicals and this gives me a rough guesstimate of what to expect. Proven females I can pretty much tell you within an egg or two how many they will lay with out palpating them.

[ClarkT]

It's actually very easy. It just takes a little time and patience. What I like to do is wait til right after they're done laying. Then, as I palpate them away from the momma, I count them....haha

I've been able to palpate and definitely tell that they have follicles and eggs, but I have had no success in being able to tell how many are there.

One tip I learned from a JKR video was that he curls his fingers up into the snake while palpating. I tried that, and boy, what a difference. You can follow along a lot better and feel the follicles way better.

Look up some vids on BP breeding or palpating for follicles. It may help you learn.

Your big girl looks good. She's likely building toward ovulation still. Good luck!

[DC Reptiles]

thanks for the help guys, I swear she just keeps getting bigger like shes gonna pop, she was already a big girl but now she just stays wrapped around the water bowl. Shes been off food now for at least a month and shes a very aggresive eater on med rats.

[LGL]

Since she is still wrapping her bowl, I would assume that she's still building follicles. Keep your eye out for an ovulation soon.

I've been extremely successful with palpating my females while building follicles and then again two weeks or so after ovulation. So far I've been 100% accurate with my projected egg counts for each clutch 11-12 weeks before they're laid. I palpate many times throughout the season to track relative size (while they're still follicles) and I also record how many I feel. I then continue to confirm my count as they become larger and when they become soft (eggs) after ovulation. The count usually fluctates up or down one or two follicles early on, but looking back at my records, for females laying specifically May 18-21 (three females - one last season and two this season), I recorded that I was confident in my follicle count by March 1-4 and all of those counts were correct. The time scale holds true for all of my other clutches too. Also, as Ed said, at a certain point post ovulation you can sometimes distinguish slugs and full-term eggs based on size and softness/hardness. My point is that it is definitely feasible to count follicles/eggs very accurately and predict clutch sizes way before they're laid with patience and practice.