My 2024 Breeding Pairs!

Okay, ill check on her again after tonight then.

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If nothing in the morning, Iā€™d do a controlled swim (no flailing), and then try to feed her a hopper.

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Sometimes their timing is weird. Ember is having an unusual year, but she may still get the job done without excessive trouble. Do give her at least a full 24 hours. If sheā€™s moving them down and looks to be making progress, itā€™s okay to let her keep at it for 36 hours or so. At that point if she hasnā€™t laid any more, itā€™s definitely time for a controlled 10-20 minute swim in 80-85Ā°F water.

Donā€™t be surprised if she seems to enjoy it initially, then becomes distressed. I have seen this happen a few times. I canā€™t prove it, but I believe this occurs because the swimming is causing contractions. If Ember gets agitated in the water, take her out right away.

Good luck! :pray: :crossed_fingers:

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Im trying a controlled swim on her now hopefully this helps. But one other thing ive noticed is that she has been drinking a lot in her enclosure but im not sure if that means anything?

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Well on a slightly better note after candling the one egg she has laied its fertile! And already has a good vein system. But is it possible she could lay the rest of the eggs after she sheds since shes getting close to going into blue now. I also palpated her and I believe I can feel another 3-4 eggs.

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Thatā€™s good that itā€™s fertile! But I donā€™t like the other eggs still in there. Drinking a lot is good.

This is the most stressful part of breeding them, and also the part where I truly believe that almost no one knows whatā€™s definitely best to do about it. Most vets are a crapshoot when it comes to corns. Some very experienced breeders say to get a vet to intervene immediately in a binding scenario, while others say itā€™s best not to interfere at all and to let nature take its course. Iā€™ve had a bound female die following each of those paths.

Considering the timing and the sheds, Iā€™m skeptical that itā€™ll resolve on its own. But I canā€™t predict.

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Great news! I gave Ember a controlled swim a few hours ago and after checking on her again now shes finally laying another egg!

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Excellent! Hopefully that helps them all get moving.

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Im hoping so. I just checked on her now and she still hasnā€™t laied that egg but she has gotten into her lay box and it looks like shes still trying

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She got another egg out finally! And shes close to getting out another too! The egg she layed a few days ago wasnt in her nest box but now shes laying them in her nest hox which seems like a good sign!

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Excellent! Hope she pushes them all out.

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Shes gotten 3 out so far! Looks like she only has 1 left.

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Hooray for Ember! Iā€™m so glad that she got things moving! Congratulations, @shadowspiderjack, on successfully assisting her!

Itā€™s terribly stressful, absolutely right. It is indeed hard to find a vet who is experienced with eggbound corns, and simply taking the female to the vet is such a stressor that it can impact her progress. Youā€™re also right that advice is all over the place, @deanaii. Intervene in this way, that way, no way at all. Itā€™s hard to know what to do, and very upsetting when things go awry despite doing our best. Part of the confusion, I believe, is simply because there truly isnā€™t a single right way to handle reproductive complications in corn snakes any more than there is a single right way to handle reproductive complications in humans.

I also believe that knowing your animals well is especially important for breeding. If you do, itā€™s easier to tell when sheā€™s really distressed, when sheā€™s making progress even though itā€™s slow, when sheā€™s truly stuck. (Iā€™m saying ā€œeasier,ā€ not ā€œeasy.ā€ It can still be quite a challenge.) In addition, though not all females are easy to handle, itā€™s a huge benefit in times like this when theyā€™re accustomed to human interactions.

Iā€™m really glad to read that Ember is doing so well. Itā€™s great that youā€™re able to see that the first egg is fertile, too!

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Im not too sure if shes done yet but from what i can see shes laied about 17 eggs here!

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I just counted them all up and in total shes laied 22 eggs and all of them are fertile!

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They look great!

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They look wonderful! Congratulations on a lovely clutch. Does Ember seem to be empty yet?

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Thank you! And yes she does seem to have gotten them all out and she accepted a small meal yesterday too.

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Thatā€™s great! Iā€™m always really happy when they eat a snack after the hard work of laying.

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It sure is! And after checking on the eggs today i decided to recount them and turns out I missed one she actually laied 23! All of them are all in the incubator so hopefully they start hatching in august!

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