Follicles aborbed

[colin-java]

I posted not long about my female BP (age 24, never been with male).

She was developing follicles and was bloated around the bottom third.
The bloating has practically gone, and you would not really notice any difference from normal now.
She is in the shedding process also now, about 2 weeks after I noticed the bloating, her eyes are cloudy now.

My question is, since the follicles aren't being fertilised, then should they all be absorbed?????

My vet says its unlikely all of the follicles will be reabsorbed, he says they should be laid if they aren't reabsorbed.
I think he basically wants to do surgery to remove them as they haven't been laid yet (assuming there are follicles left), but I'm skeptical as to if that is necessary or not.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Find a new vet and let nature take it's course whether the follicles are absorbed or they mature into eggs.

This is another example that shows most vet have little to no hands own experience with snakes.

[colin-java]

Thanks, its a difficult situation cause I'm not an expert in biology so I feel obliged to put trust into the vet.

He basically said if we do nothing now, I might have problems in a year or two instead.
He was concerned about her not eating, but she never eats for a few months a year, and she is also going into shed right now which isn't gonna make her want to eat. So the not eating thing doesn't worry me right now as she's got a good weight to her.

Do you think I need to see another vet for an x-ray, even though there's no bloating now, or should I just leave her to it?

[distaff]

I'm not an expert. However, for all the countless snake breeder videos I've watched over the past several years....NO ONE that I ever saw discussed issues with unfertilized follicles being a problem that would require surgery. I could be wrong, but what the vet said to you seems TOTALLY off to me.

Don't blindly trust ANY vet who is helping you with an animal, esp. if that animal is outside his specialty. (Bird owners are ADAMANT about this - they go to certified avian vets, and fish people even get fish specialty vets, but I don't see much in the way of practices devoted specifically to reptiles...still, too biologically diverse as a group.) If you get an opinion that sounds odd, ask the vet to steer you toward some source material for your own further research. If he/she knows his stuff, he should be able to either give some reference, or explain specific past cases in his OWN practice that have led to that opinion.

[Kalikat]

It is possible she could still lay viable eggs. They have been know to produce offspring through parthenogenesis, meaning no male involved. I would get a second opinion at the very least. And do some research on parthenogenesis. Also it's normal for them to go off food while there in breeding mode all the way up until after they lay eggs and also there is a pre-lay shed. They normally lay within about a month of the shed.

you don't need an x-ray but instead you could have an ultrasound done.

Personally I would get a small incubator and supplies ready now just in case.

[Kalikat]

here is a good set of videos to start with on Youtube...Ball Python Parthenogenesis (Part 1) "Virgin Birth"

MrLundScience

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Thanks, its a difficult situation cause I'm not an expert in biology so I feel obliged to put trust into the vet.

He basically said if we do nothing now, I might have problems in a year or two instead.
He was concerned about her not eating, but she never eats for a few months a year, and she is also going into shed right now which isn't gonna make her want to eat. So the not eating thing doesn't worry me right now as she's got a good weight to her.

Do you think I need to see another vet for an x-ray, even though there's no bloating now, or should I just leave her to it?

I would let her be.

[colin-java]

Thanks for your input, at the time I didn't know what was going on, cause I always thought she was a he, and I knew it couldn't be constipation cause the last rat that was eaten already came out the other end in January so I had to get it checked out.

She looks back to normal now pretty much, maybe just fractionally wider at the lower end than in the middle.
I think if she doesn't start eating again in a couple of months I will see a different vet to see if there is an issue with the follicles.

It can be hard to find answers to these questions sometimes, so I figured the breeders would be the best people to ask.
There is the egg-bound thing, but unless there's parthenogenesis going on, I don't think you can call follicles eggs, so I think being egg-bound is not something I need to worry about.

[colin-java]

here is a good set of videos to start with on Youtube...Ball Python Parthenogenesis (Part 1) "Virgin Birth"

MrLundScience

Thanks so much, I will look soon, I know its a rare thing but if it were the case I wouldn't want these eggs removed by surgery by mistake.
How rare is it? Like 1 in 1000 maybe?

[colin-java]

It is possible she could still lay viable eggs. They have been know to produce offspring through parthenogenesis, meaning no male involved. I would get a second opinion at the very least. And do some research on parthenogenesis. Also it's normal for them to go off food while there in breeding mode all the way up until after they lay eggs and also there is a pre-lay shed. They normally lay within about a month of the shed.

you don't need an x-ray but instead you could have an ultrasound done.

Personally I would get a small incubator and supplies ready now just in case.

Actually I had both an ultrasound and x-ray done, the ultrasound showed a couple of egg like things, but it was hard to tell what was what without the x-ray. The vet just said it was the follicles.

I donno if this is relevant, but she has just gone into shed, about 2 weeks after the follicles got enlarged and she was bloated.
Might just be a coincidence she is shedding right now, but parthenogenesis is statistically unlikely, I suppose I can research it during the next month so I know what to do.

I would love some babies though, it would be great if it happened.