Ball Python Getting Eggbound?

[CoolioTiffany]

How many times have you heard of a Ball python getting eggbound? People worry about breeding small females because they think the snake will get eggbound, but from what I've heard I've never really even heard of a Ball python getting eggbound. A large female can even get eggbound, but since I haven't really heard of any eggbound-stories, I think it's rare for a Ball python to become eggbound. If you breed a small female your going to get small eggs and a small clutch, with the chance of getting eggbound (any snake no matter what size has the chance of becoming eggbound). Ball pythons in the wild will breed no matter how much they weigh, so there is no recommended gram for them like we have when we try breeding. This topic is a little confusing for me, so what I stated above is just my opinion.

[Hock3ymonk3y]

In captivity, we try to keep our animals as healthy as possible so they can live as long as possible whereas in the wild they just breed to keep their species going and that is it, they dont worry about their lifespan in the wild they just try to stay away from extinction. That is my interpretation.

[OhhWatALoser]

I got no examples but I've herd of ball pythons getting egg bound yes it happens. This issue seems to be sketchy and heres what I make of it with all the stuff I've read, tho I have no personal experience.

When it comes down to it, can you breed a female small with no ill effects, yes. If a female isn't ready, she won't breed or eggs won't develope. theres been no proof or solid claims that small females have more of a chance of egg binding than a larger female but one trend has been notice.

say you breed a female at 1000 grams, and you get 4 eggs, not bad right, so next year shes now up to 2000 grams, she still gives you 4 eggs... eh so you try again next year and shes up to 2750 now and still you get 4 eggs.

the trend has been notice if they were bred small, they lay less eggs for the next coming years. the other fear is if you bred them small and they go off feed... well they don't got much weight to fall back on.

[CoolioTiffany]

I got no examples but I've herd of ball pythons getting egg bound yes it happens. This issue seems to be sketchy and heres what I make of it with all the stuff I've read, tho I have no personal experience.

When it comes down to it, can you breed a female small with no ill effects, yes. If a female isn't ready, she won't breed or eggs won't develope. theres been no proof or solid claims that small females have more of a chance of egg binding than a larger female but one trend has been notice.

say you breed a female at 1000 grams, and you get 4 eggs, not bad right, so next year shes now up to 2000 grams, she still gives you 4 eggs... eh so you try again next year and shes up to 2750 now and still you get 4 eggs.

the trend has been notice if they were bred small, they lay less eggs for the next coming years. the other fear is if you bred them small and they go off feed... well they don't got much weight to fall back on.

I see what you mean. But from what I'm reading on the forum here is that people don't want to breed their females less than 1500g because they think the female will get eggbound. That's pretty much the message I'm getting when they say the recommended weight is 1500g. I would definitely make sure my female is more than 1500g when I breed her (well, she's 988g now so this Fall she'll be well over 1500g from what I'm feeding her) so I get a larger clutch, but I wouldn't be that worried if I bred her at 1300g or even 1200g. I do have two other females that I plan on breeding, so if I keep getting small clutches from my largest female I could always get larger clutches from the other girls. I guess this is why it's good to have more females than males

[LGL]

I see what you mean. But from what I'm reading on the forum here is that people don't want to breed their females less than 1500g because they think the female will get eggbound. That's pretty much the message I'm getting when they say the recommended weight is 1500g. I would definitely make sure my female is more than 1500g when I breed her (well, she's 988g now so this Fall she'll be well over 1500g from what I'm feeding her) so I get a larger clutch, but I wouldn't be that worried if I bred her at 1300g or even 1200g. I do have two other females that I plan on breeding, so if I keep getting small clutches from my largest female I could always get larger clutches from the other girls. I guess this is why it's good to have more females than males

A lot of it also depends on the individual animal. Being able to "read" your animals is a very valuable tool. I have a female that I have no problem breeding when she is 1300g-1400g or so. She's also older (2004) which makes a difference. Though she is around four feet in length, she has a "maximum" weight of about 1450g when she's not gravid. That's about as thick as she gets. When she was gravid last season, she reached 1682 grams before going off feed. After defecating, she dropped down to 1600g. She was about 1550g before laying, and 1094g afterward. She's back up to 1470g-1475g and has been sitting at that weight for over two months despite feeding every week on 1-2 small rats.

On the other side, I have a female who weighed 1568g at the beginning of November and has eaten almost every week (also a 2004 female) that I am not breeding this year. I even have a female that weighed 1904g at the beginning of November and is pounding 1-2 small rats every week that I am also not breeding. She is a larger female from 2002 who I do not feel is ready to produce another clutch. The female that I purchased with her that is also from 2002 weighs about 2500g.

So it also depends on the size/build of the animal, not just the weight. Also, muscle vs fat plays a role.

[cinderbird]

i have heard or read of two specific instances where female ball pythons became egg bound. One was with a het. lav female and the other was a normal (possibly a gravid import). With the lav.. well, PM me and i'll see if i can find you the story. The gravid import i talked to a guy who was taking her off of another guys hands in hopes to rehabilitate her. She'd been gravid for 2 months or so past her lay date but looked to be in good condition. I dont have any update on that story.

I think its more of a spontaneous occurrence rather than "at x size it happens" if there is a large egg or a blocked duct it may be more likely to happen.

[panthercz]

My largest pastel failed to pass her last egg out of a 10 egg clutch (10 laid 1 stuck, for 11 total). Took her to the vet, the vet aspirated the egg, she passed it the next morning and she is doing just fine.
Do you count that as being egg bound or do you want a case of an entire clutch being bound?

[WingedWolfPsion]

I think anything that requires intervention to remove an egg or eggs counts as eggbinding.

[Dave Green]

I've had it happen to me twice. The interesting thing is that both females were pretty large, one was approx 1600 grams and the other was even larger. Both females felt soft even though they weren't fat if you know what I mean. They didn't have that solid ball python feel. The 1600 gram female was older but was always a problem eater until about a year before I bred her. She laid 4 of her 5 eggs and the last egg was bound. I figured I'd give her a day or so to pass the egg and she was dead within 36 hours. The 4 eggs that she layed went bad mid way through incubation. The second female wasn't a problem feeder but she never felt right, always soft. I let her go an extra year just because. She died approx 35 days after her post ovulation shed without passing her eggs. It's not a large sample but the fact that they both didn't seem as muscular, or as solid as they should, seems to be the common link.

In contrast, I have a 2002 albino female that was always a problem feeder and I finally decided to breed her in 2007. She was 5 years old and approx. 1200 grams. I was concerned but she felt pretty solid and had eaten well for a couple months. She laid 2 eggs in 2008 that went bad, but became a fantastic eater afterwards. She gave me 5 good eggs in 2009.

[Mike Schultz]

I had a 1600 gram normal girl become eggbound, and my friend has a 2500ish gram het albino who is eggbound.

So it happens!