I was replacing water when I noticed my female was pushing out an egg 14 days after her prelay shed. I would be much more comfortable in this situation if it was closer to expected timing. Is it possible she’s just getting rid of a slug egg and will safely hold the rest for another week or two?
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Something doesn’t look quite right there. Can I see a picture of her that gives a better idea of what her body looks like right now?
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I agree. For 14 days after prelay…a better idea of her body condition may help. Also, the ‘slug’ doesn’t really look like a slug. But it’s definitely not a normal fertile egg either.
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A few more questions from me: What was the breeding timeline? When was she paired? When was her previous shed before the pre-lay?
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She locked middle of December and every month after that until April. I honestly don’t have a record of her previous shed but it was only about 5 weeks ago.
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This still isn’t a slug though. It looks like she could have had an infection or tried reabsorbing the egg too late.
I really think you should be looking at scheduling a vet visit for her.
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While I don’t work with BPs, your girl looks eggbound and that “slug” looks like a once-fertile egg that’s been stuck and she’s only just expelled it. I’m in agreement with @armiyana, vet needs to happen. You should absolutely be keeping close track of shed cycles and ovulations if you’re breeding, it’ll help you know when to expect eggs and when it’s been too long.
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Definitely looks egg bound. You’ll want to see a vet as has been suggested.
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Just in case you don’t already have a veterinarian, here is a resource you can use to find a nearby herp vet: Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians
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Thanks I will be handling this first thing in the morning. I’m trying to stay positive and hope for the best outcome but I’m not sure what is likely. If she shed 6 weeks ago and also 14 days ago, I’m now not sure if she layed this one early or very late. I feel like seeing what happens overnight is the best idea but maybe I should be looking for a 24 hour emergency vet visit.
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She’s still here so that’s a positive, as is the fact that she’s moved one egg out. Based on the look of things, I’d lean more towards her laying late. As far as whether or not to go to the E-vet, I’d say that’s more a personal decision. If you have an exotics emergency available, that might be a good option, but not every emergency vet knows how to treat everything.
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If she doesnt lay overnight I’m taking her to the vet at 9am. I don’t have enough experience to know if its possible for her to release one bad egg if it is only in fact 14 days after pre lay shed, which I think it is. Is that unheard of? My worry now is that what if shes not egg bound or overdue and I take her to the vet and they want to palpate the eggs out. I guess theres no way to be sure but it seems I’ll lose this whole clutch. 2 days ago she had little runny poop so I’ve been watching her closely.
Here’s a photo of her May 6th.
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Runny poop is not a good sign. Especially given the egg she did pass, it was probably some of the contents from it. Which can lead to a nasty infection. Also, I know you think it’s only 14 days past the prelay… but looking at your photo from a month ago there are 3 very suspicious eggshaped lumps.
Which makes me think she should have laid 2-3 weeks ago.
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It’s possible she could lay overnight, and yes, sometimes they do pass one or more eggs before laying a successful clutch, but the look of that egg suggests it’s been in there a while or ruptured internally. Do you know when she ovulated for sure?
As for the vet worries, a good vet isn’t just going to palpate the eggs out immediately. They will do a physical exam, likely along with imaging and possibly bloodwork. At this point I would be less worried about saving the eggs and more worried about getting your female through this successfully. As @armiyana said, a ruptured egg can lead to infection, which can also lead to sepsis and death.
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Gonna post these as a comparison. I can’t get better photos at the moment cause I don’t wanna fuss with her too much. But this girl is due to lay this weekend. Here’s the similar bumps and how I expect the belly to look normally, not as swollen as your girl. I’m expecting only 4 or 5 eggs from this girl.
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She shed 6 weeks ago, 2 weeks ago, and this morning is now in blue again.
I also woke up to her second seemingly not viable egg she pushed to the side.
Originally I thought I felt 4-5 eggs weeks ago. I explained the timeline to the exotic vet and he pretty much said the shed cycle doesn’t mean much, I disagree…
He ended up giving her an X-ray and said signs of two possible eggs still inside, possibly one although you could now barely feel them if paplated. The remaining lumps are nowhere near the size and shape of the 2 eggs she did pass. The vet suggested just giving her 1 more week and seeing what happens naturally. One vet I spoke to on the phone suggested a B12 shot but the office I visited said it’s not necessary. He mentioned next week giving a hormone to help with laying. IDK
She was 1500 grams on May 1st and is now 980 grams today.
I guess I’ll wait until she sheds to offer a smaller meal than normal.
Thank you all for the advice. They would not give me a copy of the X-ray but here is a picture.
I’m going to have to wait until she has a bowel movement to get that checked out. She’s had ongoing runny poop problem since early on but I’ve already gotten her stool sample analyzed once 4 years ago. The vet said no parasites or bacterial infections. Years ago the breeder I got her from suggested she should be fine to still breed as long as the bowel movements come back clean and don’t show any other signs of issues.
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Was she given any kind of antibiotics at least? If not I’d be calling back and asking for some. Also, how old is she and what was her weight before breeding? 1500g is really small for a gravid female, most folks don’t even suggest breeding until they hit that as a base weight to avoid issues.
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She was egg bound for sure. I had a girl do the same thing to me a few years back. The eggs looked exactly the same and there is no reason to incubate. They are not viable. Essentially what has happened is the Albumen and Yolk have solidified in to a gelled mass and the shell has collapsed around them. Cut one open if you want to see. Sorry for your troubles. I know it is a kick in the gut when you care for them and do everything you feel is right, and then it runs afoul. That’s nature.
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