Yowza! 70 Red Sided Babies

[guidofatherof5]

I was on the phone with my friend Mark when he informed me that the Red Sided garter at his work (Iowa Science Center) gave birth to 70 live little scrubs with 2-stillborns and 1-undeveloped egg for a total of 73.
Congrats to that mom and such a large litter of scrubs.

[infernalis]

wow... That number seems really high.. is it any sort of a record?

[Stefan-A]

I seem to recall that the record for a parietalis is somewhere just over 90. Not even close to a record, among snakes.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

How did she pack them all in?

[guidofatherof5]

He says she looks really thin now. I would have liked to see a before and after photo.

[ProXimuS]

Wow Steve, I second that YOWZA! That's a little extreme! So do parietalis commonly have large litters? I'm also wondering, can they mate more than once? Like for example: When a dog is in heat, she can mate more than once, with more than one dog during that time, and therefore (possibly) have more puppies. Can snakes do this?

[infernalis]

I'm also wondering, can they mate more than once? Like for example: When a dog is in heat, she can mate more than once, with more than one dog during that time, and therefore (possibly) have more puppies. Can snakes do this?

Yes they can and do....

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Wow Steve, I second that YOWZA! That's a little extreme! So do parietalis commonly have large litters? I'm also wondering, can they mate more than once? Like for example: When a dog is in heat, she can mate more than once, with more than one dog during that time, and therefore (possibly) have more puppies. Can snakes do this?

Well, They can mate with several snakes and thus produce a clutch with more than one father since their sperm will all be mixed together.... however, the number of sperm from a single male GREATLY outnumbers the amount of eggs she produces and has ready to fertilize. No matter how many males mate with her, provided they are healthy and producing a good amount of viable sperm, that's not going to increase the amount of young. Breeding action can stimulate her reproductive tract to produce to it's fullest, but breeding three males to this female and two to another female will not mean you will yield clutches proportional to the breeding action. The amount of babies a female can have is related to her... her size, age, weight, overall health and diet. The male just supplements with his sperm and off he goes.

[ProXimuS]

Well, They can mate with several snakes and thus produce a clutch with more than one father since their sperm will all be mixed together.... however, the number of sperm from a single male GREATLY outnumbers the amount of eggs she produces and has ready to fertilize. No matter how many males mate with her, provided they are healthy and producing a good amount of viable sperm, that's not going to increase the amount of young. Breeding action can stimulate her reproductive tract to produce to it's fullest, but breeding three males to this female and two to another female will not mean you will yield clutches proportional to the breeding action. The amount of babies a female can have is related to her... her size, age, weight, overall health and diet. The male just supplements with his sperm and off he goes.

Thanks!

[guidofatherof5]

Parietalis females are big snakes and usually have large litter but this is larger then most.