kingsnake.com - reptile and amphibian classifieds, breeders, forums, photos, videos and more

return to main index

  mobile - desktop
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on YouTube link to us on LinkedIn
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research  
Click here for LLL Reptile & Supply
This Space Available
3 months for $50.00
Locate a business by name: click to list your business
search the classifieds. buy an account
events by zip code list an event
Search the forums             Search in:
News & Events: Herp Photo of the Day: False Coral Snake . . . . . . . . . .  Herp Photo of the Day: Bearded Dragon . . . . . . . . . .  Greater Cincinnati Herp Society Meeting - Apr 02, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Calusa Herp Society Meeting - Apr 04, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Southwestern Herp Society Meeting - Apr 06, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Hamburg Reptile Show - Apr. 13, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  St. Louis Herpetological Society - Apr 14, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  San Diego Herp Society Meeting - Apr 16, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Suncoast Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  DFW Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Colorado Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Chicago Herpetological Society Meeting - Apr 21, 2024 . . . . . . . . . . 

Study possibilities


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Indigo Snake Forum ]

Posted by pulatus on March 31, 2003 at 22:35:02:

In Reply to: Egg binding & sedentarity.... posted by redgarter on March 31, 2003 at 00:22:53:

There's a good study here or maybe even a wider opportunity to research captive husbandry issues. If the breeders of the various indigos would contribute, a database could be developed that would allow an analysis of variables - cage size and egg binding, for example.
If it were web based, registered users could enter data on husbandry into web forms easily - and the data available online to anyone interested in looking at any relationships between variables.
I know self-reported data is notoriously unreliable, but its better than nothing. Some interesting stuff might emerge over time.

Joe


:I couldn't agree more with you Joe. It's been quite a while that I've been convinced that the vast majority of egg binding cases occuring in cases other than when most of the eggs are infertile, are for the most part caused by lack of squelettal muscle tone and/or endurance in the females involved. It can't be just a coincidence that most of these cases occur in species that are relatively active in the wild, and conversely rarely if ever happens in species that are normaly much less active in their natural habitats, such a all the ambush predators like many pythons.

: Most colubirds on the other hand are active hunters that (should) move around all day in search of prey, so they just can't be expected to keep their muscles in the same condition by doing laps around their cramped bins or terraria in captivity. So these "out-of-shape" females most probably have reduced muscle mass compared to their wild conterparts, so when comes time to push out their eggs (were they obviously depend mostly on the squelettal muscles, not just the smooth muscles of the oviduct's walls), they just plain poop out before the last one is passed, hence the typical scenario of just a few of the last eggs retained after most of them have been expelled.

: I wouldn't be a bad idea to experiment on that concept by trying to give female colubrids more exercise by handling them much more often before and during the breeding season, in order to "buff them up". It seems right now the mainstream thinking is to leave females alone during the breeding cycle in order to "disturb" them as little as possible while they make their eggs, forgetting that they don't stop moving about in nature during that period of time just because they are gravid. Perhaps we should do the opposite!

: Anyone out there ever heard of an ambush-type predatory snake species that ever retained a few eggs after passing most of them?

:Dr. Phil

:
:





Follow Ups:




[ Follow Ups ] [ The Indigo Snake Forum ]