tail suck?

so our female albino (first BP breeding EVER!) has locked up 5-6 times, with a pastel, and a spider. recently, i've caught her laying funny. not "inverted," but definitely a bit "askew." tonight as i opened her bin she was laying sideways, but righted herself before i got the chance to snap this photo. good thing i keep my digicam RIGHT beside the rack! lol

i haven't caught her "ovulating," but from what i understand it's hard to catch them actually ovulating. however, she did shed on march 7th. exactly 1 month ago. i opened her bin, and to me, her tail looks a little funny:

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il72010020.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il72010023.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il72010024.jpg

what do you guys think? she has a lay box in with her, 2.5-3 inches of moist vermiculite (UGH hate the stuff, but haven't found sphagnum moss recently) in a tupperware bin. just not sure if i'm waaaaaay too early with the lay box or not.

Doesn't look like the standard "tail suck" to me, but in photos 2 and 3 it seems like she has a nice build going on. Good luck!
JonV

What does the "tail suck" look like exactly? Can someone please post pics?

They only tail suck during ovulation.

If she had her shed a month ago then you should be getting ready for eggs very soon. Their post ovulation shed marks the count down of 25-40 days of when eggs are to be laid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

They only tail suck during ovulation.

If she had her shed a month ago then you should be getting ready for eggs very soon. Their post ovulation shed marks the count down of 25-40 days of when eggs are to be laid.

---

how long do they visually ovulate for? this i don't know, because i have heard it's so easy to miss that sometimes the only indicator is the shed.

i DON'T think she's ovulated, as her 2nd to last shed was sometime in December, and her most recent March 7th. don't they have a pre and post ovy shed? maybe the march 7th shed was the pre-ovy shed?

i have been looking at the markus jayne breeding page. i have DEFINITELY seen Merangue (the ball in question) hugging her water bowl a few times. and like i said, i've caught her "almost" laying inverted. however, i am not sure i've seen her glowing. from the markus jayne page, it says the glow is pretty obvious. Merangue is a very weird snake though. she has changed color practically since the day we got her. like a mood ring! sometimes she's a very BRIGHT yellow, sometimes a drab yellow. sometimes her eyes look ruby, and sometimes they look dull, as if she's going in to shed. but then she DOESN't go into shed. she changes day to day. i know each snake is different, but i love merangue soooo much because of these changes she goes through.

anyways, sorry for the long winded post. assuming she HASN'T ovulated yet, how long would you say i have until eggs?

i HAVE palpated her, and felt 3-4 "bumps." not sure if they're just follicles, or actual eggs.

like i said, this is my first experience breeding balls, and it is all very exciting for me! they are much different than corns, and their breedings seem to be like snails in comparison!

Ovulation's last 24 hours at most. Once they ovulate the follicles turn soft.

and if she shed in december that was her pre ovy shed, and the one she just had very likely her post ovulation shed. Females that have ovulated and are ready to lay will be more prone to laying on the heat.

If shes refusing to lock and eat then thats good sign that shes possibly gravid with eggs on the way.

Cant really base your female on someones documented detail as not every female does the same. My one female never bowl wrapped, laid inverted or had a pre ovulation shed. Each female is different and most miss the ovulation. Just keep your eye out for eggs in the next week or two. If nothing then pair her up again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Ovulation's last 24 hours at most. Once they ovulate the follicles turn soft.

and if she shed in december that was her pre ovy shed, and the one she just had very likely her post ovulation shed. Females that have ovulated and are ready to lay will be more prone to laying on the heat.

If shes refusing to lock and eat then thats good sign that shes possibly gravid with eggs on the way.

Cant really base your female on someones documented detail as not every female does the same. My one female never bowl wrapped, laid inverted or had a pre ovulation shed. Each female is different and most miss the ovulation. Just keep your eye out for eggs in the next week or two. If nothing then pair her up again.

---

thanks a lot, you've been a lot of help, and not only in this thread!

glad i have the box in there then. i really want to get my hands on some sphagnum, though. vermiculite is the devil. it's SO messy, and i sometimes even find it between my corns scales. doesn't look that comfortable for them at all.

she did refuse to lock with our male spider a couple days ago, however it is his (and hers, in fact) first years, and he didn't seem to be that aggressive with locking at all. we paired them once, they locked, and paired them 5-6 more times over the course of a month and a half or so, and NOTHING. then i threw my male pastel in, and they locked a few times in a row. and THEN, the spider decided to also go for it.

but like i said, she refused the male a few days ago. also refused an ASF, but she hasn't really been that consistent of an eater since we got her back in september. she'd eat 4 weeks in a row, quit eating for 3 weeks, eat twice, refuse 5 times, etc.

it's all a mystery, a very FUN and EXCITING mystery!

thanks again.

this is what i saw last night :D getting excited!

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il82010001.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il82010002.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il82010003.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il82010004.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il82010005.jpg

got some moss finally, and this is what i saw when i went to go give it to her. i thought we had a long way to go until eggs, but i am beginning to think it could be very, very soon :D

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il92010001.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...il92010002.jpg

:) Looking good!

indeed, she's our baby <3

nothing yet...

*siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

Looks like some eggs are in the works :D

i certainly hope so! if her last shed (march 7th) was her pre-lay...she should be due ANY day now!

it's hard because i don't want to disturb her, but i also don't want her to lay and me not find the eggs for awhile.

so impatient, lol. i have a corn due to lay any day now as well as a clutch of corns hatching within a week! the season is finally heatin' up!

STILL nothing yet! our merangue has been in and out of her lay box, just loafing around. i haven't caught her laying inverted or hugging her water bowl anymore. i also haven't caught her coiled up. i thought she was going to lay DAYS ago! she has the biggest bulge in her tummy.

i'm getting a little worried, as i thought she would lay awhile ago. i know it's nothing to worry about, this is just my first year with balls, and they really are a LOT different to breed than corns. corns are SO straightforward, and seem to do everything in warp-speed compared to balls.

her last shed was march 7th. if she were a corn, she would have laid almost a month ago! here's a photo of her preggo belly. not the best photos, but i didn't want to disturb her too much, she's probably SO uncomfortable!

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...-172010006.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...-172010008.jpg

oh and all those strange little indents on her are nothing to be alarmed about, just from her curled up on the perlite

oooooooohhhh its gonna be soon! :banana: Good lookin girl too!

Looks like she may not have even ovulated yet to me. If she did ovulate I think you still have some time before the eggs come. The last couple days before laying the lumps spread down closer to the vent.

well, looking back on the records makes me wonder

do snakes ovulate even if they're not bred?

Merangue's 2nd to last shed was on December 22nd. her FIRST lock, EVER, was on December 31st. so i don't think her March 7th shed was her post-ovy shed, i think it was her PRE-ovy shed.

i paired her with our male spider again last night, not expecting much. open the bin this morning, and they're locked tight, both chillin' in the lay box.

SO i conclude that she has not yet ovulated

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by katia

well, looking back on the records makes me wonder

do snakes ovulate even if they're not bred?

Merangue's 2nd to last shed was on December 22nd. her FIRST lock, EVER, was on December 31st. so i don't think her March 7th shed was her post-ovy shed, i think it was her PRE-ovy shed.

i paired her with our male spider again last night, not expecting much. open the bin this morning, and they're locked tight, both chillin' in the lay box.

SO i conclude that she has not yet ovulated

---

March 7th is more than likely a pre ovy shed or a scheduled shed. Not every female has a pre ovy shed as mind didnt this year.

When you miss a ovy and get a shed, its best to start counting down just encase and keep pairing.

She looks close. I bet she ovulates within the next couple days.

will she keep breeding right up until the day she ovulates?

STILL no eggs but...OHHHH BOY they're gettin' close! her (what i believe to be) pre-ovy shed was on May 17th. her "bulge" seems to have moved down her belly, and she's rather hissy and uncomfortable looking these days. rummaging all over her cage, moving her lay box all over the place, laying upside down, and i palpated what i believe to be 6 eggs inside her.

so, fingers crossed! this is her first year, i'm really hoping she doesn't slug out, like my one cornsnake did.

Man I wish my girl would give me some of those more obvious signs like the laying inverted and bowl wrapping. So far shes done none of that and has succeeded in confusing me with her wierd sheds , giving me on one April 6th and then again on May 14th ( 2 sheds within a month). At the time I had assumed one of those to be a pre-ovy and a prelay but hes proved me wrong yet again as shes back locked up with her man :confused: But now I''ve noticed shes lost almost 100g, I hope thats gone into some egg production. Palpating her I can feel 6 or 7 bumps only a couple feel around pingpong ball sized, but how big do the follicles roughly get/feel before a female ovulates. I've heard of golfball sized follicles but that seems prety large for a unshelled folicle inside of a Bp.