Ovulation??!

[Allysen]

Last September, two of our female ball pythons, Priscilla and Penelope, went on a breeding loan. Penelope, the smaller of the two, ovulated early this year, delivered three gorgeous eggs, and all three hatched just about two weeks ago.

Priscilla, on the other hand, didn't take. She wasn't observed locking up, but she was with two different males for quite a while. She ate the entire time, and continued the trend when she came back home.

They both came back with a pretty bad bacterial upper respiratory infection, but after a few vet visits and some cultures, they both made a full recovery.

She's always been very jumpy. She's not aggressive, she doesn't bite or hiss, but she jerks away from pretty much all touch.

So fast forward to earlier this week. She took her meal about two weeks ago, but refused this time. Fine, no big deal, she was going into shed... Even though she usually eats in shed...

And then while cleaning her cage a few days later, she absolutely FLIPPED out on me. A complete and utter change in behavior overnight! She was hissing and striking, throwing an absolutely epic fit. Ah. Something in my head clicked and I managed to get a quick feel down her tummy and sure enough, bump-bump-bump, couldn't get a count, but definitely felt something.

Being the crafty kid I am, I sent Priscilla and Penelope to the vet for a recheck today. I did genuinely want to make sure that they were both fully recovered from their bacterial infection - which they both are, yay! - but I also wanted a second opinion on Priscilla.

Sure enough, she's just ovulated and is currently grumpily making her way through her post-ovulation-shed.

So..... The last time she was even WITH a male was February. Early February at that. And just NOW she's ovulating? What do you suppose are the odds that the sperm is still viable? Will she slug out? Reabsorb? Give us an awesome jackpot of healthy eggs? I know that sperm retention is possible, but still, pushing six months... We'll see I guess!

Here's the very upset little princess herself:

[mainbutter]

I don't know about sperm retention with BPs, but i know some reptiles (notably crested geckos from my experience) can retain sperm for a year or longer! I'll cross my fingers for you!

[Allysen]

Thanks! I've heard of boas going nearly a year with retained sperm and having semi-healthy litters, so I know it's theoretically possible, I'm just kind of thinking it's a little unlikely. But nature's pretty cool sometimes, so all I can do is keep her comfortable and sit back and watch!

[shaunwithbite]

i have read in some books that BP can hold sperm for up too 6 months.. hope this helps...

[Allysen]

i have read in some books that BP can hold sperm for up too 6 months.. hope this helps...

That does help! Well, that would put her right on the border... I'll just have to wait and see what comes out!

[LGL]

If she's ovulated, then she won't be able to reabsorb the eggs. Hopefully they are fertile. What was she bred to?

[Allysen]

If she's ovulated, then she won't be able to reabsorb the eggs. Hopefully they are fertile. What was she bred to?

Thanks for clearing that up for me, I've totally heard some conflicting rumors and hear-say out there. Sounded fishy to me, lol!

She was bred to my mojave, Maverick and my friend's spider, Peter, both unfortunately were lost to the RI outbreak at my friend's house . Penelope had Peter's babies, so we're really hoping Maverick left a legacy on Priscilla.