Do I look Fat in this Dress...?

Here's a picture of my cal king who shed 7 days ago. To my eye she is IMMENSE, but she's still restlessly prowling her cage, even though I've offered her two laying containers. Anyone wanna guess the number of eggs she'll have? Last year was her first year and she had 8 large eggs. (One of which hatched out a 14" baby!). I'm thinking she's having MORE than that this year.

Very nice looking female cal king! she looks like she is going to lay any day! do her hatchlings look like her? my spotteds last year had mostly abberrant, broken striped and 2 nice spotted b/w babies. My female blond Hypo Cal is been pacing in and out of her nesting box these last 2 days. i feel kind of bad because she looks a little stressed. i 'll probably give her next year off from laying,lol. your so lucky to live in AZ. i go out there every year ,phoenix, tucson, sedona, etc and love to photograph the native herps. I still havent found any cal kings or Pyros as of yet,lol do you live near Kerby (lonesome valley reptiles)? Happy Herping Dave F

Here's a pic of seven of her hatchlings from last year. The one that didn't live (dragged her innards out while exiting the egg) was a reverse stripe. (the prettiest...of course!).

Arizona is nice. I don't get out looking for native herps much. I have a little "allergy" to prolonged exposure to the sun (like, more than 5 minutes, my brain goes mushy, more than ten, I'm into heat stroke)... so I don't go out. But I do have a pyro (she's tangling tails with one of Kerby's Pyros on loan ) so Hope to have more if it takes.

Speaking of Kerby, I got this girl, and her mate (unrelated), from Kerby in '01. She's of Newport Locale heritage, and her mate is a high white. We also got an aberrant banded male ... sibling to the high white... from Kerby. He also gave me the Pyro I have.

my girl, depending on how she recovers from laying eggs, might be double clutched this year. Last year she developed follicles for a second clutch and was fatter then than she is now. Depends. We'll see. I just want her to lay these eggs more than anything else!

It's been ten days since she shed, she continues to restlessly go from one laying box to the other. I ahve sphagnum in one, vermiculite in the other. Today hubby is going to buy me some sphagnum PEAT moss (you know, it looks like dirt). That's what we mistakenly provided her with to lay in last year, and she didn't have these problems last year (taking so LONG) so I am going to offer her some of that later today once we get some (have to drive 30 miles into town to get some). I am just hoping she isn't egg bound. She shouldn't be... she is a very energetic and muscular snake, laid without a hitch last year. She's driving me bonkers! In the meantime my other cal king has shed (yesterday) and this is a picture of her... I think her clutch will also be quite large.

thanks for posting the pics! they came out really good! As soon as i figure out this new dig camera, i'll try to post some also lol, . Your snakes are really nice looking! I'm sure she wont get egg bound, she definately looks large and healthy,lol. My female cal is about to lay also. My San Diego Mtn King and two of my C/b Eastern hognose snakes layed eggs this week. Happy Mothers day!!,lol The babies in the pics that you posted are really nice. Did you hold some back or sell them? I use the spagnum moss also. i actually bought some of the moss from the nursery near me. i like it a lot better that the gree moss at the pet stores, it doens smell, and also retains the moisture longer. Does you hubby like snakes also? Are you a member of the AHA also? i have been meaning to send in a membership app. i travel to AZ every year with my nonherping fiancee,lol. She loves wildlife, however isnt really a snake/scorpion person. i usually go out herping/photographing, while shes at the mall, however, than she worries and winds up coming along anyway. She's gotta leave the open toe shoes at home,lol Kerby was going to tak eme out herping, however i think he's going to Kansas that week. is it in the 100's already now? Have you had any rain as of yet. do you ever do any night herp driving? it does really get hot during the day. i try to stay out of the Sun its dangerous. i didnt drink enough water once when i was station on 29 palms Marine base and almost got heat stroke. i learned my lesson. AZ is very beautiful though. Hope i didnt talk your ears off too much, i had a little too much starbucks coffee on my way home, im a little wired. let me know when your cal king lays eggs. bye Dave f

"Happy Herping!"

thanks for posting the pics! they came out really good! As soon as i figure out this new dig camera, i'll try to post some also lol, . Your snakes are really nice looking! I'm sure she wont get egg bound, she definately looks large and healthy,lol.

Well thank you for the compliments! She did NOT get egg-bound, as you predicted. Yesterday she laid 12 HUGE eggs! No slugs. I'm attaching a picture with a dime in the picture for size comparison.

My female cal is about to lay also. My San Diego Mtn King and two of my C/b Eastern hognose snakes layed eggs this week. Happy Mothers day!!,lol The babies in the pics that you posted are really nice. Did you hold some back or sell them?

Congrats on your eggs! On Friday one of my corns laid what appeared to be 6 viable eggs, and 5 slugs (plus one slug a few days previous). Today when I was candling I found veins in one of the slugs, and still haven't seen veins in one of the "good" eggs. I only kept two of the slugs, the rest got REALLY gross really fast, all gnarled and bubbly yellow. Two seemed questionable, so I put them in with the good eggs. One is pretty ICKY, and it'll go in the trash, but the other one has red veins in it. I won't hold my breath on it, but I can always hope the little guy makes it! Sunday another of my corns started laying. I wasn't even sure she was gravid, and I had pulled her out of her cage. She was resting in the egg laying box while I was cleaning some vermiculite out of her mouth, and voila! I looked and there was an egg. I immediately lay her upper body down on the opened lid of the egg laying box and she remained in that exact position, out of her cage, on my desk, laying eggs, for the rest of the day. She laid 21 eggs, no slugs! And before she was done my Cali started to lay her MASSIVE eggs.

The ones in the picture above... I kept two but they were in a faulty snake rack. I only put them there for a couple of days, as we were moving from one house to another, and fed them a hefty meal so they would not want to try to squeeze out, and shouldn't have been able to do so with such a huge meal, but alas, they did slip out, and haven't been seen since. The rest were sold.

Does you hubby like snakes also? Are you a member of the AHA also?

Hubby likes snakes but not as much as I do. We are members of the AHA, but have only been to one meeting.

Kerby was going to take me out herping, however i think he's going to Kansas that week. is it in the 100's already now? Have you had any rain as of yet. do you ever do any night herp driving?

Yes, I believe he is making a trip to Kansas. It is just getting to the 100's now. We've had some uncharacteristic rain a few weeks ago, but lately it's been all sun. I haven't done any night herp driving. I myself don't drive due to some eye problems, and hubby isn't into it enough to go night driving.

Hope i didnt talk your ears off too much, i had a little too much starbucks coffee on my way home

Nope, not too much.

Awesome.
You should defenitely post pics of the babies when they hatch. Last year, when my corn laid her first clutch, the eggs were rather small, but when the babies hatched out, they were larger than all the babies at the pet store. The store bought my normals over the other guys snows, amels, and whatnot just because of their size.
I was pretty happy with that clutch...