Hi There Everyone,Just looking for some advice and opinions regarding one of my female spotted pythons. Her name is Bug. She is a full-grown adult that I got a few years back. Come breeding season 2006 I put one of my males in with her and they hit it off immediately (you know what I'm sayin'). She produced her first clutch (according to her previous owners she'd never bred before). Incredibly she produced 18 eggs, a huge number for a spotted python. Unfortunately she only managed to lay 15 and was I think late in laying so they were all ruined. The three remaining eggs were still inside her, so I took her to the vet. Visit http://www.aachilpavet.com.au/Main/index.php?id=129 for the article on her operation. She healed perfectly and is fine and healthy again --- eats like a horse!!! What I'm wondering though is should I try and breed her again next year? Does anyone think she is predisposed to having these dangerously large clutches? Any opinions appreciated. Thanks,Lauren
Breeding a Special Spotted
- Thread starter lozza_rae
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hazzard
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The size of the clutch is not amazing. Spotted pythons can have clutches way in to the 20's. I have a mate in Brisbane who's 12 yr old girl dropped 27 eggs last week!
It is more likely to have been some other problem i certainly wouldn't call a clutch of 18 dangerously large. Was your husbandry spot on? Did you know she was gravid? and did you feed her during this time?
If you have that sorted out then i'd try her again.
Cheers
It is more likely to have been some other problem i certainly wouldn't call a clutch of 18 dangerously large. Was your husbandry spot on? Did you know she was gravid? and did you feed her during this time?
If you have that sorted out then i'd try her again.
Cheers
Hmm, thats good to know. I guess there's nothing concrete about the 'averages' that are suggested in a lot of material you read. Unfortunately I had not owned this snake very long before she mated. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have actually let it happen. But I paid $550 for the operation she needed, so I learnt that lesson. I have heard that poor diet and lack of excercise can cause problems with the eggs. When I got this particular snake I thought she was huge. Compared to my other spotteds she is still large. But perhaps she was overweight when I got her. She eats really well, so that would not really suprise me - in fact if you kept offering food I think she might eat until she exploded. But I do know that she gets excercise since I've had her.
Jonno from ERD
Very Well-Known Member
G'day Loz,
Good to see you've found APS
A lot of the measurements and data you see in books are with regards to wild animals. Captive animals regularly attain larger sizes and have bigger clutches/litters.
Personally, I would try and breed her one more time. I've seen several snakes become egg bound, some of which have produced perfect clutches afterwards, but others that always have binding issues. One female Colletts Snake got stuck on her final egg three years in a row, and for some reason the final egg was always massive.
Good luck
Jonno
Good to see you've found APS
A lot of the measurements and data you see in books are with regards to wild animals. Captive animals regularly attain larger sizes and have bigger clutches/litters.
Personally, I would try and breed her one more time. I've seen several snakes become egg bound, some of which have produced perfect clutches afterwards, but others that always have binding issues. One female Colletts Snake got stuck on her final egg three years in a row, and for some reason the final egg was always massive.
Good luck
Jonno
Hey Jonno,Yeah, I'm just worried because Weipa does not even have a full-time vet, so if anything went wrong, I'd be potentially killing her. If not, it would cost a fortune to fly her out to a vet. So I really want a good idea that she'll be ok this time. Who can read the future?
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