Laying Eggs and retention problems?

[Razaiel]

I've just been reading Dr Del's post on his snake and retained eggs which he thankfully managed to get out and rather than hijack his thread I was wondering at what age snakes start to lay eggs? My BP and boa have only just turned their first year, but my hoggy is an adult whose age I don't know, and she hasn't laid any.

So what I'm basically wondering is - at what age do they start laying? do they lay every year? And if there aren't any should I be worried and be taking a snake to the vet at some point to determine if there are any stuck eggs inside?

Just want to be safe

[lillyorchid]

Well first of all you kind of need a male snake to go with that female snake. Dr. Del's snake is just an "odd ball" who probably at one time was bred and didn't pass all the eggs on out.

I know female ball pythons should be at least 1500grams in weight and be of 3 years old. More weight is better.

As for boa's & hoggies I'm not sure as I'm still learning stuff about both of them. I do know boa's do not lay eggs, but do give birth to live young like a dog or cat would do.
If your snake has never been in with a opposite sex of snake, then you are in the clear.

[Razaiel]

Hehe - so they're just like us humans in that respect then - now I feel dumb but also reassured


I have lizards and various birds in the past and am used to females being able to lay eggs without male presence.

[dr del]

hey Razaiel,

lillyorchid is totally right - This was the first time this snake was bred to a male ( accidental idiocy on my part this time round ) and is the first time she has ever produced eggs. She laid a clutch of 5 on the 30th of september and these were ones she didn't lay then for some reason - possibly the stress caused by me discovering them and disturbing her before she was finished according to a book I found.

The other 2 females and her have never been bred to a male before and have never laid any eggs so you shouldnt have anything to worry about at all.

When you say hoggy do you mean hog island boa or hognose? cos those little noses are cute as a button and I keep lookign at them in the local store . Sadly I have too much stuff to replace and improve in my setups to be thinking of a new snake yet but I just can't stop looking.


dr del

[Razaiel]

You know, I just didn't realize that about snakes and egg-laying. Because my parrots and lizards lay infertile eggs I never really thought about it that much. One thing for sure - my boa won't lay any


My hoggy is indeed a Western Hognose - a big fat girl of 3ft weighing in at 365g. Here she is in one of her latest poses as a fashion accessory for one of my daughers ...

[tmlowe5704]

you have got some good genes somewhere in your bloodline!

[dr del]

wow I didn't realise hoggies got that big - whats their maximum size?


I'm also curious about temperament and is it true they are mildly venemous? As you might have guessed I haven't got close enough to convincing myself to buy one to do the research yet.


dr del

[Razaiel]

Thanks, Tim - all on my side of the family I can assure you


I believe hoggies don't get much larger than 3ft and yes, they are considered mildly venemous (rear-fanged venemous). They say if you get a reaction to the venom it's likely to be if you're allergic to bee/wasp stings and such. And being rear-fanged, they're only likely to get venom into you if they get to really chew on you. I've heard it's for popping the toads or something like that. There is a link somewhere where someone got a really bad reaction and their whole hand and arm swelled up - but most people consider he was probably encouraging the snake to hang on longer just to get the effect

Mine's really docile and friendly (I think most of them are).