Girls getting ready

So as much as I may complain about not having much action, now is the time of season where we actually see some females developing and getting ready to lay their eggs.

How does one tell if a female is getting ready, or if they are even gravid?

Lets try and touch on a few points.

A female that is getting ready to ovulate has a glow. This is called the "Glow before they go" so to speak, and a normal ball python will become lighter in coloration. This is when the female is ready to move the follicles down the oviduct into an area in the tract (similar to the uterus) that allows the follicles to develop into eggs.

Follicles are pre-eggs, like in human women and the ovaries.

Yes, we are going to get technical, cause I am a Biologist.

Boys, close your eyes if you don't wanna learn about girly stuff.

Human women have follicles as well, but they only release one at a time (usually).

The follicle travels down the fallopian tube and ripens in the uterus.

Now in snakes, its similar, but the follicles are released many at a time, and develop at the same speed. When fertilized, the female ovulates, and the follicles travel down into oviduct and ripen there.  Then the follicles are eggs, and are laid in two months for incubation and hatching in two months.

These two females are getting ready for ovulation, aka "building."

They are getting fatter and wider, and the ridge of the spine is becoming more pronounced. They should ovulate in the next few weeks.

And then we have the female that is bathing itself. She is also glowing. This is an indicator that she is also building, but tends to be in the earlier stages of it.

Problem is, bathing is also an indicator of dehydration or illness, to name a few, so make sure that you are on top of your husbandry before beginning breeding, as this is a huge strain on a female that is not 100% healthy.

So what, if anything, should you be taking from all of this?

ONE: Heather is plugging in her incubator today.
TWO: Pay close attention to any females you may be breeding, as they do exhibit signs of being gravid if you know what you are looking for.
THREE: Girly parts are fascinating!!!
FOUR: Have a great weekend, my friends. I will be touching on some of the requests that have been asked in the comment section next week, including Chipo and some egg information.