mesob laid eggs

Mesob is our family ball python, whom we all thought was male. We have had him for about nine years. he is an only child. The odd thing is that he laid six eggs in saturday and is now coiled around them. how is this possible. thanks for any help

Call me crazy but I think you were misinformed.....;)

I've never heard of a spontaneous pregnancy nor immaculate conception in pythons- are you sure they are egss and maybe not urates? About how big are they? You've had this BP for 9 years . . . could you possibly post some pics?

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

I've never heard of a spontaneous pregnancy nor immaculate conception in pythons- are you sure they are egss and maybe not urates?

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It's actually been documented in burms and ball pythons.

Was she a hatchling when you got her or an adult? The eggs may not be fertile.

-adam

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It's actually been documented in burms and ball pythons.

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Is this some kind of hermaphroditic thing? Are the involved eggs, organs etc. vestigal? Likely to be slugs then?

That's fascinating to say the least - are there any online links we could check out?

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

Is this some kind of hermaphroditic thing?

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Many claim that they are higher order cases of parthenogenesis, but I don't think that the histories of the animals involved to date can be documented well enough to know with any certainty that sperm wasn't present within the female at some point.

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

Likely to be slugs then?

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They are likely to be slugs if the female has with a doubt never been in the presence of a male. The popular thinking being that if conditions are right a sexually mature female may spontaneously ovulate without being inseminated and then go on to develop and lay eggs which would of course be infertile. While rare, it is certainly not beyond the realm of possibilities.

In the cases that I've heard of, the most probable conclusion has been long term sperm retention. A female python kept at ideal temperatures may be able to hold sperm for many years. It's not an idea that breeders like to talk about, but there is evidence to suggest that it should at least be considered.

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

That's fascinating to say the least - are there any online links we could check out?

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No links that I know of ... I think I have an old copy of an Italian herpetological journal that has an article. Other cases I've heard of were one first hand account and a couple other second hands.

-adam

We had a turtle that laid eggs without ever being introduced to a male. The turtle was purchased when it was way to tiny to breed so retained sperm could not have been the answer. All the eggs that were produced were slugs. It is very odd but I have read about this happening a few other places. If you do a search on cornsnakes.com you should be able to find a few similar stories.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

I've never heard of a spontaneous pregnancy nor immaculate conception in pythons- are you sure they are egss and maybe not urates? About how big are they? You've had this BP for 9 years . . . could you possibly post some pics?

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they are a little smaller than chicken eggs but longer but you cant really see them. she is coiled around them tightly

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Many claim that they are higher order cases of parthenogenesis, but I don't think that the histories of the animals involved to date can be documented well enough to know with any certainty that sperm wasn't present within the female at some point.



They are likely to be slugs if the female has with a doubt never been in the presence of a male. The popular thinking being that if conditions are right a sexually mature female may spontaneously ovulate without being inseminated and then go on to develop and lay eggs which would of course be infertile. While rare, it is certainly not beyond the realm of possibilities.

In the cases that I've heard of, the most probable conclusion has been long term sperm retention. A female python kept at ideal temperatures may be able to hold sperm for many years. It's not an idea that breeders like to talk about, but there is evidence to suggest that it should at least be considered.



No links that I know of ... I think I have an old copy of an Italian herpetological journal that has an article. Other cases I've heard of were one first hand account and a couple other second hands.

-adam

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how will i know if the eggs are infertile. and what will happen to them if they are. what should i do now

here is how to check if a egg is infertile....
http://www.joecompelreptiles.com/bal...ndle/index.asp