Quote Originally Posted by BHReptiles View Post
Sometimes, I have my moments but I generally don't fail that epically! I was instructed to feel for follicles in this female (much like with ball pythons). If I feel follicles, it's too late and she's ovulated. If I don't feel them, it can't hurt to pair. We'll see. She just ate a mouse yesterday so I'll hold off a few days and let her poop (usually day 3 or 4 post-meal for her) before I go feeling for follicles.
No, it's not necessarily too late to breed if you feel the follicles. Right after that pre-ovulation skin shed, you often can feel them and should pair them then. From my experience, the male corns only tend to be interested for a small window of time after that, which doesn't seem to last more than a couple of weeks, unlike ball pythons, who will mate for weeks to months before the actual ovulation, which you can see. Corns just have palpable lumps that you can often feel for a few weeks during the breeding season, and it can be hard to tell whether they are follicles, slugs or fertile eggs when you feel them. If your female corn has started fasting, though, you pretty much know she has already ovulated, and you won't be able to get a fertile clutch if you try to breed her. That has been my experience.