Help Please! - first time ball python carrying slugs - I'm Clueless need advice

[MissLovesSnakes]

Just over a month ago I took her to the vet because she looked bloated in her lower mid section. The vet did x rays and couldn't tell whether it was debris or unfertilized eggs starting to form - hell, I didn't even know she was a female! I took her to the vet yesterday because she is extremely thick all the way down her lower body and in the x ray, it looks like she has 8-9 unfertilized eggs in her but they have not calcified yet (or do they even calcify?). (4 months ago I had X-rays done & there was nothing there.)


Anyways I was wondering if I should I be soaking her on a daily basis & for how long?- she hates water & refuses to go in it on her own possibly because her previous owner only gave her a minuscule water dish for the 6 years he had her. I've always had to put her in water when it's needed. Although she does spend much of her time in her humid hide.


I'm handling her as little as possible because she looks like she could burst but is it helpful for them to move around and get exercise during this time?


How long does it normally take for them to start laying eggs?


She's not really urinating or having bowl movements lately, is that normal?


And is there anything I can do to help prevent her from getting egg bound?


Im freaking out. I don't want anything bad to happen to her

[MissLovesSnakes]

Oh yeah the vet told me to email a breeder to get advice & I have emailed a couple & non have gotten back to me.

[kylearmbar]

How big is she? Has she ever been paired? And even if she isn't they are capable of laying eggs without ever having been so and yes they still can be fertile. Also can still just building because she feels ready to breed, but can also 're absorb if nothing g happens. So basically a wait and see game ha.

[MissLovesSnakes]

She has never been paired. Holy crap! The eggs can be fertilized?! She is somewhere between 4-4.5 feet long (and all this time I thought I had a fairly big male).

Just over a month ago I took her to the vet because she was bulging in the lower middle - looking like she's eaten a very big rat but she went on a hunger strike about 2 months ago - she looked like the pictures of ovulating females I looked up on the web. She went into a shed shortly after that - end of june/beginning of july. Now she looks like she's ready to burst. The xray showed that the eggs are very large. The vet said to be very cautious handling her because the eggs haven't calcified and they could burst.

I'm ok with waiting but I'm wondering if it's safe to be lifting her out of her humid hide to change the bedding & make sure it's damp every couple days. And I'm also wondering if I should be soaking her?

[dr del]

Hi,

This page has a good overview of the process.

http://ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding/

I really wouldn't be messing with her with soaks or anything like that - just make sure the enclosure is set up right and keep track of her sheds. Have you seen where in her body the slugs/ eggs are?

Have you noticed any ovulations?

Letting her lay naturally is probably going to end up being the safest option by far.

[rlditmars]

Among some species, reptiles being one, there is a scenario called Parthenogenesis in which a female having never bred can produce fertile eggs and offsping. The understanding is they are in essence clones of the mother and thus are all female. Its natures way of ensuring existence without access to the opposite gender. You may have to wait and see, but I would look through this forum on a do-it-yourself incubator made from a cooler just in case. Best of luck either way.

[MissLovesSnakes]

Thank you everybody for responding. I appreciate it.

The eggs are from about her mid section to her tail - 8-9 of them. In the x ray, although large, they aren't fully defined or separated from one another. I looked like large oval circles touching each other at the edges.

Just over a month ago she looked like the pictures of the ovulating ball python on the website you provided. She went into a shed shortly after that.

Ok. I won't soak her. I'll try to wait for her to leave her humid hide before I change the coconut husk, if I can. She's not really wanting to leave her humid hide right now.

I did read about an incident of parthenogienesis in a snake, at one time, but I thought it was something that pretty much never happens. But I will start reading up on incubators etc.

Thank You again, everybody!