Marnie's Snakes

[EasternGirl]

Oh...sorry Steve!!! Lol...Stupid touch phones. I am always accidently touching the phone and calling people! . Anyway....I was awake at 3am last night....ask me what I was doing! Well...for the first five minutes or so, I was watching as Cee Cee was doing her best to use her nose to lift the corners of the lid off of her tank! It was very interesting to watch. These snakes are so smart. Earlier in the evening I watched as she used her nose and the side of her face to try to dig her way out of the bottom of the tank. It looked like she was building something! She would move the reptibark carefully with her nose and face...and pat it down with her chin in a different spot...carefully trying to dig her way out of the bottom. When that didn't work...at 3am she decided she would try to figure out how to lift the tank lid. Now..whoever made this "reptile enclosure" didn't make it for snakes...the lid pops right off...so I spent 10-15 minutes rigging the lid so she can't get it open. I am tired...Cee Cee must be tired. I keep looking in her enclosure and telling her to go to sleep!!! Maybe she needs to pop out another baby. I don't know...but I certainly do not need her getting loose in my house.

[EasternGirl]

Cee Cee is now having reabsorbed looking stillborns popping out all over...I just removed three from her enclosure. They look exactly like the ones from last summer...and of course, I keep forgetting to take a pic...I'll get a pic of the next one. I'm sure there will be more. This makes the current count a total of seven babies, three live, four dead. I am praying that just one more comes out alive at least...but I am not hopeful at this point. My thinking is that since she retained them for so long, they were all starting to reabsorb. Depressing.

[mikem]

I'm so sorry to hear this I'm glad she's at least passing them, for her own health.

[katach]

That is sad news. Sorry Marnie.

[EasternGirl]

Thanks guys...two more dead babies since the last post. I got a pic and will post it a little later. I guess she should get them all out now...which is good. She is very restless so I'm thinking she will keep passing them. I keep hoping maybe one will surprise me and pop out alive but it is doubtful at this point...they are coming out partially reabsorbed...dried up looking and some of them are not whole. Poor little babies. I'm just so thankful that Zeus, Ariadne, and Perseus made it out alive before she started retaining...I don't know why the poor girl does this. I do know I will never let her breed again. It's just too stressful for her apparently.

[mikem]

I'm glad the three little musketeers made it out! I would avoid breeding her in the future. Two years in a row with complications isn't a good sign.

[BUSHSNAKE]

holly geeez!!! poor girl, its good theyre coming out

[EasternGirl]

Three more...we're up to 12 now. I'd say she's going for another 30 count. Mike, it's actually two litters in the same year...the other litter was last July, so it hasn't even been a year yet. The poor girl has been gravid most of the time I have had her! Yeah...unless she has stored sperm...she won't be seeing another male if I can help it. I got more pics of the stillborns...I've been running around all day. I'll try to get them up tonight or tomorrow.

[kueluck]

So sorry to hear about the ones that didn't make it, but be thankful that you have 3 healthy little ones and pray that Cee Cee comes out with no ill effects. Could she just be to young for this? I dunno, just throwing out a thought.

[EasternGirl]

Good news! The babies just ate! They all gobbled up some worm pieces. They really seemed to enjoy them. And I have never seen such polite babies before...they actually took turns eating. One would go up to the dish and eat a few bites, then he would leave and then the next one would go up. The only concern is that one baby wandered off the paper towel and ate a little moss. Gail...to answer your question...I don't believe she is too young. I believe that she lived under the stairs at the back of my house for 2-3 years before I took her in. Who knows how long she was around before that. I don't think she is really old though...she is still very active. I think she simply tries to retain her litters for whatever reason. It may have to do with her being wild caught and feeling that she needs to protect the babies. Like I said, for that reason...because it seems to stress her out so much...I will not breed her again. I am very thankful for the three little ones that she had that lived! And I am very thankful to have her. I do hope that she gets through all of this...Cee Cee is a tough girl...that I know.