Excellent news!! Very glad to hear that the eggs are moving. Hopefully she’ll soon get them moved all the way out! 
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Oh my goodness. She laid the front egg today. Progress is giving me SO MUCH hope. Go Confetti!!!
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That’s an excellent sign. As long as things are still moving! 
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That what I’m thinking. Any progress at all is a good sign.
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That’s wonderful!! 
She’s moving things along.
You have every reason to feel encouraged. Keep going, Confetti!! Yay!!
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Yay, that’s great! Hopefully she won’t end up needing any serious intervention.
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So happy to hear she’s progressing, I’ll keep cheering her on over here!
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Two more eggs down. Two more to go!
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Yippee! So how many will that be in total?
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She made 15 total eggs. 10 are in the incubator, but only 6 look like they’re developing well. The 3 that came out delayed were in her too long to be viable. The last 2 inside her will obviously not be viable, if they ever come out. I’m still holding my breath until they’re delivered, but I am holding out hope.
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They will be delivered I am sure! You’ve got a lotta people here who will help you get through this!
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Maybe feeding her a decent sized meal might get things moving.
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That’s terrific! It’s excellent that she is continuing to move eggs along and out.
Not necessarily… my vet advises attempting to incubate even with later–laid eggs’ “delayed oviposition.” There no harm in “incubate until there’s no debate” even with eggs that arrive much later than others in the clutch.
I agree with @deanaii on the meal. If Confetti is willing to take a hopper or small weanling, it could be helpful. She’s not chock-full of eggs, so she’s got room to digest it. Worth a shot!
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So far she hasn’t been willing to eat, but we try a pinky at least every other day.
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Some of them don’t want to eat when they’ve got eggs. Are you still giving her an occasional soak/swim? Wasn’t sure if you had paused that while she was moving eggs along, which of course makes sense.
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Yes. We still do a swim once or twice a day. How do you all manage the decision of surgery? I know many of you have gone that route and I totally understand why—we owe it to them animals to give them our best care possible. It’s just been my personal experience that more often than not, the animals die during or shortly after surgery, anyway, and then I worry they’ve just been made to suffer more instead of less. What principles do you use when making that decision to spend that kind of money?
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She’s also getting rather grumpy, which is not in her personality at all, so that has me worried.
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I’m sure she’s a bit uncomfortable. Daily swimming is good.
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I’ve mentioned I have a girl who was spayed twice, almost thrice. Both times she made it through surgery with no issue, it’s really all about the overall health of the animal, plus the level of experience of the vet and whether or not there are any complicating factors such as infection, rupture, etc. In your case, I’d say she’s still been showing progress, so it might be worth giving her more time before making the jump. If the eggs have moved down toward the cloaca, it’s only a bit to go until they’re out. If you go more than 48 hours without further progress, then I’d suggest seriously considering surgery. Benefit if the eggs are lower down as well is it may not need to be as invasive of a procedure to remove them. Snakes can make it through a spay and do well, my Celia is proof of it.
My reasoning behind making the decision to pursue surgery is that I chose to breed an animal that would not have otherwise been bred (had she been in a pet home) and therefore I am responsible for her outcome, comfort, and quality of life. My girl made it very clear she still had plenty of life left in her, so I gave her every chance to live it out. That is not going to be everyone’s reasoning, and sometimes hard choices have to be made based on personal circumstances, which isn’t wrong, just a different path to take. I’d discuss your concerns with the vet, weigh the pros and cons for your girl, and go from there. I’d also see if they think she may benefit from antibiotics, just to ward off any potential for infection ahead of time.
As for this
Egg laying is basically labor, and hers has been quite drawn out. She’s probably quite tired and sore.
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Daily swimming is indeed good.
It’s never an easy decision. There are no guarantees for a good outcome, with or without surgery. For me, the decision comes down to the likelihood of the animal doing well with and without the procedure, assuming good supportive care of course. Financial concerns are realistic, of course. Good keepers take veterinary care into consideration when planning, and I don’t mean to imply that your aren’t. Sometimes the cost can be prohibitive, though. That’s only realistic.
Sounds like she’s not feeling well. You know your animal best. That’s part of the calculation. If she seems distressed in a new way, that’s worth a call to the vet.
How far up is that final egg? Has it moved down? Wondering if it might have shifted to where the vet could ease it down with lubrication if they anesthetize her so that she not working against them.
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