Quick, and probably silly, question

[End Times]

A thought just came to me: I know some reptiles can lay eggs even if they haven't been bred. Do female balls do this? If so, wouldn't males make "better" pet snakes for those who have no intentions of breeding? Just thinking this way because wouldn't it be a pain to deal with an egg laying female that is only laying duds?

I hope this isn't the case with balls as I was planning on starting with a female as my first snake, that way if I ever decided to expand further into the hobby I'd already have one fattened up.

I know this might be a silly question to some of you more experienced folks, but I have searched around for the answer and can't seem to find the info anywhere!:confused:

[End Times]

Come on people! Almost 20 views and no one replied. Don't tell me nobody knows the answer! LOL!

[HeatherRose]

Since no one's replied...

I'm pretty sure that snakes in the boidae family do not lay eggs unless bred... for some reason I just don't want to say that I'm 100% positive, as I'm about to post the same question regarding a gecko species in another forum.

[End Times]

Hmmm. Thanks, Heather. Well, does anyone know for sure? Surely one of the breeders that frequent these forums would know?

[mykee]

If a female ball has been properly cooled, and of a good size to be bred, she will begin to produce follicles, these follicles will grow until they are approx. 2.5 cm. If these follicles are then fertilized by a male, she will ovulate, and the follicles will develop a shell, and become eggs.
Now, if the female has produced follicles, and they have developed to the point where they need to be fertilized and aren't, they will not get any larger and the female will reabsorb them ALL, resulting in no ovulation, and no eggs.
What I think you are referring to are special cases where a female was bred, retained the sperm for up to a year, and then fertilizes eggs the following year without having been bred to a male. The ONLY way a female ball will lay eggs is if her follicles were fertilized by a male.

[End Times]

Thanks a lot, Mykee. Appreciate the response very much! You've put my mind at ease.

[Markus Jayne]

Yeah..what Mykee said.

However...I remember reading an interesting article about a female burmese in a Germany zoo that was in captivity for many years by herself and that she actually laid a clutch of viable eggs. When the eggs were tested for DNA to see if another male had accidentally been put in with her, they did not find any DNA but her own. Do..do..do..do..

Mark

[HumphreyBoagart]

hermaphrodite?

[snakehunter]

No, I have heard this aswell, I read once that a ball and alot of other snakes do this too, while the clutch is not a big clutch, it is usually just one or two eggs, PROVIDED this freak situation takes place. There is a word for it, but it escapes me, but I am POSITIVE that this has and does occur, but on a VERY RARE basis. This act is just basicly meiosis at its best, to the point where a clone is produced. AGAIN VERY RARE

[malaysianbloods]

I do no that corn snakes can lay multiple of fertike clutches in a row by retaining sperm. So did those burm eggs ever hatch out.

[snakehunter]

Ok ran this by me Bio prof. and he said this is called Auto Parthenogenesis, here are his exact quotes: "This is where the ova is self-fertilized by the mother without sperm, but instead with one of the polar bodies (the by product cells of meiosis)"-Dr. Mike Rozensweig.
Oh and he also said that for this to be Auto Parthenogenesis, the offspring have to be the same sex.

SO this is true, and totally feasable.
-Jacob

[pythonmdk]

I heard about that too, and as far as I recall this was the only time it has been recorded in pythons, so that would make it very very rare!!!
John

[HumphreyBoagart]

In my very best Monty Burns voice....
Innnteresting...