Will female produce slugs if not bred?

[BaierBalls]

I have a proven female Pastel that I am trying to breed with a Bumblebee this year. They have been paired numerous times since Oct. but the Male shows no interest in her ever. I have seen him lock with other females so not sure why he won't breed with her. She scent marks and shows breeding behavior when I intoduce him but he tends to just curl up in the corner of the tub for 3 days when he's with her.

Mh question is... Is it possible that she will build and ovulate and just slug out because he has not even attempted to breed her? Or will they generally not lay at all if not bred by a male?

If there's a possibility she is going to just slug out because she is in the breeding process but not being bred by the male, I will put another male to her (That I dont particularly want to
breed her with) just to not waste a year on slugs.

If they generally dont lay at all if not actually bred, then I would rather save her for another male next year at this point.

Thoughts?

[loonunit]

If she builds and ovulates, there's a good chance that he was breeding with her when you weren't looking. I paired a pastel with my tiny male pied last year, and only saw them lock once. But she produced 6 big eggs. So he still got the job done.

(But the same pied male completely ignored my black pastel female last year. I honestly don't know if they don't like each other, or if she just wasn't ready to make eggs that year. She never ovulated at all. I wonder if she would have with a different male?)

There was one person who posted this year about a virgin female who laid a clutch of slugs with one fertile egg. So sometimes they do produce little parthenogenesis clones of themselves, in the absence of viable sperm.

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

It's also possible that the female could lay with the retained sperm. You said she was a proven breeder


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[BaierBalls]

Thanks for the replies and I'm aware of all these possibilities.

I guess my main question is... If he does not actually breed with her... Do Ball Pythons still lay unfertile eggs (like chickens do when no male is present) or will she most likely not lay at all if she hasn't actually been bred by a male?

[snakesRkewl]

question is... Is it possible that she will build and ovulate and just slug out because he has not even attempted to breed her? Or will they generally not lay at all if not bred by a male?

slug out no, absorb follicles, yes...

The season just started, relax and enjoy the ride, many people are pairing without lock ups yet, and maybe the timing of him entering just isn't working for her.
Next time she sheds make sure he is ready to go in with her