I think it's looking good?

First time breeding so it's hard to tell if the signs I see are actually right or if I'm just totally off.

This female started breeding in October and came back on feed at that time to start eating aggressively. From then until going off feed she jumped from 1300 to 1800 grams. She started glowing in November and December after what was her last shed in December. She went off feed like someone flipped a switch in her around the beginning of March. I saw some swelling that looked like an ovy around this time - still glowing intensely. She was sitting on the cool side through all of this. Now she is sitting on the heat for the first time in a while and has a swell starting about 1/3 of the way up from her tail. Her spine is somewhat raised and creates an angle but her belly is SWOLLEN and HARD. Along with noticing her going to the heat recently, she started sitting in a coil with her tail in the middle and her body kind of rotated on its side. I haven't seen any of my snakes sit like this before. She isn't really glowing at this point. When I try to handle her she is very aggressive / flighty.

I guess my questions are these: Does this sound like she has ovulated and is approaching her pre-lay shed? Do they skip the pre-lay shed sometimes? Should I pair her at this point when shes sitting in a coil or leave the male out of there?

And now you are rewarded with pics:
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3017/imag0227go.jpg

Kind of hard to tell but there is a distinct swelling starting 1/3 of the way up
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/4532/imag0228e.jpg

If she ovy'd in the beginning of march you'll (hopefully/probably) see a pre lay shed 2-3 weeks later.

Do you have the exact dates of the last shed and when you saw the (probable) ovy?

EDIT: also what was she paired with? Cant wait til my hypo girl is up to size! :D

Aargh, can't see pics at work. I'd definitely say things are looking good from your description. My girls lose the glow between ovy and pre-lay shed, and definitely feel denser to the touch.

The ovy was not confirmed I say I suspected it because one day I came back and she had a noticeable swell and hadn't eaten in a week or two. She then 'thinned out' a little and she has the same type of swell pretty much permanently now.

I'll update with exact dates later but it has been several months since the last shed. She was paired with my bee so a bunch of het hypo stuff unless my bee has a surprise het waiting for me.

You can drive yourself nuts trying to figure out when... Remember, the snakes didn't read the manual.

Last year I watched and cataloged every "sign" but things didn't always play out. This year I watched nothing. Surprise! I found 7 eggs last night. Good thing I just finished my new incubator on Sunday.

My advice - be prepared and just enjoy the ride.

Yeah, I've got the incubator up and running and tubs ready minus water lol. I keep feeling like I'm gonna slide the tub one day and see eggs. The fact that she's consistently wide enough around to feel confident there could be full sized eggs inside her is making me go nuts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnNJ

You can drive yourself nuts trying to figure out when... Remember, the snakes didn't read the manual.

Last year I watched and cataloged every "sign" but things didn't always play out. This year I watched nothing. Surprise! I found 7 eggs last night. Good thing I just finished my new incubator on Sunday.

My advice - be prepared and just enjoy the ride.

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Yep, i'd agree with this. It's my first year breeding an i've been paying attention and trying to learn as I go. I figure once I do it for a few years i'll be able to just kinda "know" whats going on with them. :gj:

She looks to be glowing heavily, I'd bet your next shed is the prelay shed :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrLang

Yeah, I've got the incubator up and running and tubs ready minus water lol. I keep feeling like I'm gonna slide the tub one day and see eggs. The fact that she's consistently wide enough around to feel confident there could be full sized eggs inside her is making me go nuts.

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Put water in the tubs now and place them in the incubator. You can add more water when you get some eggs. Put thermometers in the tubs while they are empty so you can test it out and adjust your t-stat temp.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnNJ

Put water in the tubs now and place them in the incubator. You can add more water when you get some eggs. Put thermometers in the tubs while they are empty so you can test it out and adjust your t-stat temp.

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Yep, what John said. :gj: