Laying on her side

[twistedtails]

The don't lay inverted during ovulation. They do however lay inverted during their pre-lay period, it's called inverted basking and they do it to cook the eggs evenly. Some will do it during summer months also(not being gravid). Although, I have observed my females doing this on the cool side after being paired with males for a couple months. I believe they were cooling themselves thoroughly. At the time I was not using a night drop and they probably needed to cool just a bit more than they were already.

[AJs Snake House]

Last year my big girl was laying inverted...a couple days later...8 eggs
My girl rolled back over a bit before I snapped this pic.

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[Zombie]

I have had 2 girls laying this way recently, I am just gonna watch em closely. My incubator is already set up because I have a female I know is laying in 2 weeks...

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[Dabonus]

I have a 2200g girl that does this from time to time after meals. She's never been with a male.

[majorleaguereptiles]

I believe in the OP's picture this ball python is showing signs of building prior to ovulation. Ball pythons can also do this just before laying as an egg adjustment. I saw someone say their females do this without pairing with a male, which would be expected. Females produce follicles even if you don't put a male in with them. Female's have follicles for the majority of the year, but simply absorb them if not paired. As the follicles grow these females can be seen on their side in effort to help relief pressure. If you see how a ball pythons rib cage is, you'll notice that on their side or back it would help support her own weight more than if she was simply laying on her stomach, especially after a meal when there would be added pressure. I also notice that it's typically near the heat of my tubs, so I believe it is also an effort to heat them up a little more. The follicles on the females are actually quite high, more near the spine than their stomach. Once the follicles are fertilized and the females is ready, she will ovulate and the ova is pushed down into the oviduct where they are shelled and turned into eggs. Seeing females on their side is typically a GOOD thing when breeding. Good luck!

[majorleaguereptiles]

After looking at your picture a little closer, that rigged back and lumps that look to be eggs.... She looks knocked up and might be laying soon. In this case, that would be pre-lay adjustment, and like someone else said, help heat those eggs evenly. Have you seen a shed anytime recently? Looking good!

[Zombie]

After looking at your picture a little closer, that rigged back and lumps that look to be eggs.... She looks knocked up and might be laying soon. In this case, that would be pre-lay adjustment, and like someone else said, help heat those eggs evenly. Have you seen a shed anytime recently? Looking good!

She hasn't shed in about 6-7 weeks, ill have to check my records when I'm home. My other girl that has been doing this and up against her water bowl just shed 2 weeks ago. And the boys don't seem interested in her anymore. The one in the pic is locked with my pewter right now, so I think she is still building...

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[WingedWolfPsion]

All of my girls do inverted basking when gravid. Very occasionally, some of my snakes do it when opaque, lol.

It looks like she was inverted, and moved when you opened the bin, so she's on her side.