Difficulty passing slugs; When do I go to a vet?

[the_edsta]

It's fairly common for female garters to do this at around 2 years old and a few times in their lives thereafter. Interestingly, some milk snakes will lay fertile eggs in the absence of a male, at around 6-7 yrs old. The babies will all be female and are genetically identical to the mother. (parthenogenesis)

Thanks... I needed a new word! :-)

[ConcinusMan]

You'll need it. sooner or later you'll hear some reptile keeper talking about his "partho clutch" (or litter). Now you'll have a clue what that means. The cool thing is all the babies are identical to the mother right down their pattern and last spec of color. You won't find that in sexually produced offspring. Each are always different in some way, however slight. With parthos, if mom has some spot of slightly aberrant patterning or mark somewhere on her, all the babies will have the identical mark.

[the_edsta]

It will be good for that, yes, but I meant the word for its own sake. I am a writer... I'm sure I will use it in my work well before I hear it again elsewhere!

[ConcinusMan]

Some writer already beat you to it. First time I heard the word was in this song. Then it was covered in biology class the same year. http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/gart...tml#post251554

[the_edsta]

Nice! Cool song... so you're a first wave / new wave kind of guy? I figured you for grunge (didn't you used to have a cornell quote in your sig?). Fortunately, words are used, borrowed, and used again, so I can still find a spot for it!

[ConcinusMan]

Nice! Cool song... so you're a first wave / new wave kind of guy?

Yes. Given the choices of genre's and bands in the 1980's can you blame me?

I figured you for grunge (didn't you used to have a cornell quote in your sig?)

That too, but that didn't come along until my 20's (1990's)