Found Red Pill-shaped object in tank!

[killerthesnakesowner]

Hey guys, i have a ribbon snake (almost 4 years now) and i was just cleaning his tank. when i lifted up his cave i discovered about 5 small (look like reddish orange pills) scattered around. they are soft an mushy.

can someone please help me and tell me what this could be and what i should do with them? In the 4 years i have owned it i have never come across this before.

I do not know if i should leave my snake with them (can they be eggs?) or if they can be harmful to the snake? They had to have come from the snake because i do not know how else they could have gotten inside the tank.

Please help!

Thank you,

Sean

[kibakiba]

Thamnophis don't lay eggs, and unless you have a female and a male... I doubt there would be any chance of having a female being pregnant. I don't know what they are, but I'd probably take them out. It doesn't sound very good. Another member may know exactly what they are... Can you get any pictures to help us identify what they are?

[ConcinusMan]

That sounds very much like your "he" is a she, and she dropped infertile eggs. They would dry up quickly and might appear as you described. Like pills. We sometimes call them "jelly beans"

True, thamnophis don't lay eggs but they still make them and hold them till they hatch or in this case, are no longer of use. Sounds like you have a female and she ovulated. No mate, so the eggs eventually drop.

[drache]

yup - sounds like jellybeans - what Richard said

[ssssnakeluvr]

I agree with Richard.....your boy isn't a boy..... sometimes females will drop "jelly beans" or "slugs" these are unfertilized eggs (not like regular snake eggs). they look like a small yolk that didn't develop. I had a western terrestrial female that threw one after having her by herself for 4 years. it happens and isnt anything to worry about.

[ConcinusMan]

She should be OK. It's good to get those unused eggs out of there. Keep an eye on her and watch for unusual behavior. If her weight is good she might just be ready for winter time and so is letting go of "unwanted baggage" until next opportunity. That suggests to me that she might just need a cool couple of months and may stop eating. Perfectly normal.

[killerthesnakesowner]

wow thank you soo much guys! Really helped a lot.

-Sean