Follicles

[philippe]

Hey i was just wondering what follicles really were and when they are produced.
A female will produce follicles by herself and then if a male fertilized them she will ovulate and have eggs?
What happens if the follicles are not fertilized are they simply reabsorbed.
Also i would wanna know when females produce follicles (size,age,season) or when to check for them/how.
Basically how do i know if my female has follicles?
and if she does that means i can breed her without fear of her being too small right?

[Drew87]

Im not the best person to answer all those questions you have alot haha, but ok to check for them you can run your hand under her belly push and let her run threw your fingers, and if you feel bumps kinda like golf balls right in a row. As for it being safe for her to breed, i dont think thats really true, she needs to be at the proper weight and age. And yes if they are not fertilized they are reabsorbed but i think if she us underweight she can become i think its called eggbound. Im sure others will chime in here

[LadyOhh]

A female snake will always have follicles. (Just like human females will always have follicles and are born with them)

It is when they are developing into Ova is when you want to check for them.

A female will produce follicles by herself and then if a male fertilized them she will ovulate and have eggs? What happens if the follicles are not fertilized are they simply reabsorbed.

Yes.. Just like Menstruation in human females, the ova are produced by the female only..
If they are not fertilized, they will be reabsorbed (in humans that is not the case, but I thought it would be a good comparison)

Also i would wanna know when females produce follicles (size,age,season) or when to check for them/how.

Depends on the female. To check, you would either palpate or ultrasound. Usually after the second or third year of age are they for sure developing.

and if she does that means i can breed her without fear of her being too small right?

Not necessarily. You still need to have the animal healthy and of good size to give the female a good chance of reproducing. Even if the female has ova and lays does NOT mean that they will be viable eggs. Slugs are common enough...

I would suggest reading the info in the link. It gives you a good idea of the reproductive cycle.

http://books.google.com/books?id=qQV...m=10&ct=result

[philippe]

Thanks alot for that

I guess all thats left is how do i know if she has follicles i mean do i check every week or so by running my finger under her belly or are there signs or periods in which females will mostly always have follicles. Also if i wanna breed her after the follicles have been absorbed can she produce more follicles during the same year and still have eggs or do they only produce follicles once a year.

[philippe]

Thanks ladyohh one more thing...

Is it pretty obvious when they have follicles or you really dont know until you check?

[LadyOhh]

You need to find someone to show you how to palpate. It is NOT as easy as it sounds.

And the season for them to occur is around now, but there are no guarantees that they are there now. Again, it depends on the female. And you won't really know until you check...

Once the follicles are absorbed, its too late for the season. You will have to wait until next year.

[philippe]

So basically lets say i wait till january for my female to be up to size, what are the chances she will have follicles ?

[LadyOhh]

There is a chance, but there is also a chance that they won't be there. I can't tell you for sure one way or the other considering I've never seen your female before...

You will have to just take the chance.

BUT! If she is not up to size already, and she is not old enough (2 years), I wouldn't waste my time.

It's up to you.

[Drew87]

See i told you that someone would come along and it does not get better then ladyohh

[philippe]

Makes sense i wont rush things just really anxious to get breeding. Hopefully shell be up to weight and she will be 22 months old soo if shes heavy enough ill try her if not ill wait for next august and breed her in the normal season
thanks alot ladyohh