Hi, i have 2 bairds rat snakes, they live together and i have a feeling they have mated, how do i tell if my female is gravid? She has gone off her food and is very quiet?? Some one please help!!

Hi, how would you tell if your bairds rat snake is pregnant(gravid)? She has gone off food and its coming up for 3 weeks since she ate anything, she is also just about to shed?? Could this mean she is about to lay eggs? What other signs are there??

Those are some good signs........look for a swelling in the belly area too...........most ratsnakes are kinda flat on the belly side until they are gravid.

Time will be the only true tell.......If she is, she should lay eggs about 1 to 2 weeks after the shed. Put a box in with her to lay in with some moistened spagnam moss or vermiculite in it.

It is a rat snake, so it has a flat belly right?? So if you hold the snake by the upper third and let the tail hang down you should see a rounded belly for the rear 2/3rds if it is gravid or full of food. Also there is a different feel to the belly of a gravid snake but that is something you need to learn. In short a belly of food is harder than a squishy belly of eggs. But then again my description of the feel may be misleading if not accompanied with the snake. Also compare the belly of the male to the female. If you look enough it becomes obvious.

Hope that randomness helps

Jason

Merged the 2 duplicate topics into one.