Hognose oddity

[Feebo]

I had a starnge little surprise waiting for me in the snake room this morning. A clutch of tiny infertile eggs. Being as neither female has been mated this season I`m a little miffed. The culpret was my smaller female who is coming upto breeding size but not quite ready yet in my eyes. She`s laid seven eggs, in typical Hognose fasion ie all over the place lol All but one appear duds. Even that one must be a dud aswell because as I say, they haven`t had so much as a sniff of a male! Has anyone ever heard of "practice runs" with Hogs? I`m not quite sure why the folicle would develop into an egg without mating and at least partial fertilisation? I`m a little miffed..... Any thoughts?

[infernalis]

Slugs as we call them happen.

I have heard of it with other species of snakes and an old friend had to take her iguana for a hysterectomy after a set of eggs went septic inside her.

[Feebo]

I get the odd slug here and there in a clutch as a normal part of breeding of course. The thing I find a little odd is that she hasn`t been mated. Why is she producing eggs at all? Shouldn`t she only be producing folicles having not been mated? I just don`t see how it has got to the stage where she`s had anything at all to lay having not been mated?! They don`t just ovulate and drop eggs here and there anyway as a normal part of the menstural cycle do they? I`ve not heard of that?

[candyraver69]

I've never heard of snakes in particular doing that but I have seen lesbian or single female birds lay eggs and sit on them just as if they were real even though they had never been near a male. Some times they do it so often they deplete their calcium badly.

I wonder if the rare female snake does the same thing, just up and deciding "well I am going to have eggs, male or not" lol.

[Feebo]

Yeah that could happen I suppose... Maybe that`s what eventually leads to the evolution of sex change capability in a single sex environment.....

[Marica]

Last year my 7 year old female Corn, Naomi ovulated, for as far as I know the first time. The unfertilized eggs/slugs are usually re-absorbed, but sometimes detach from the follicles and are passed by the female. Naomi did neither and we eventually had to put her through surgery. The slugs which were about the size of a Cadbury Mini-Egg were removed along with her ovaries as they were still attached to the follicles. This year my 2 year old female Corn, Athena also produced ova, but seems to have re-absorbed them. (All my snakes are housed separately)

[infernalis]

egg bound garter snake at the vet....

[Grimleo]

For some lizards it's fairly common for the female to produce infertile eggs even without the presence of a male. More often than not it's when the female knows a male is around but can't get to him, though. I wouldn't know for sure but maybe it's the same way for some snakes?

[candyraver69]

that looks terribly painful :S is the vet doing what it looks like and just pushing the eggs out? glad as humans we can get cesareans if we are having issues.

[infernalis]

If you look to the immediate outside right hand corner of the top photo, you can see the probe used.

as for the exact process, I was not there. That procedure was done on a snake in Finland.

It's one of those San Francisco garters I could never have.

[Feebo]

Ooooh nasty.... I suppose it`s also possible she knows there`s a male in the room and has gone through with it just in case...

[presspirate]

Well....at least she's getting enough calcium right?

[Feebo]

Yeah I put plenty in the right end I`ve got her upto to larger food recently too so that`s good... I might do the other female soon actually....