This is our very first experience breeding snakes. Ember had a successful litter before she came to live with us, so she seems to know what she's doing, lol! Anyway, her POS was about January 31st, and she's been expanding and expanding.
Our vet advised us to keep feeding her like normal, whatever she'll take, but I've also heard horror stories about prey items rotting in gravid females' bellies... Do you guys feed your females throughout the pregnancy, do you offer smaller prey items, or go with whatever she'll take?
She also absolutely refuses to sit on the hot side, stays on the cool, which is in the mid 70's, I've raised the hot side a bit to about 87-88 or so, but she avoids it like the plague. There's a hide on both sides and everything, so she's not just seeking shelter. I figure she knows what she's doing, but I still compulsively worry!
ON to the pics:
Just lookit that scale-separation!
Kickin' back belly-up:
Can't resist a pic of Fuego, the proud papa-to-be:
Last year's litter was her first (she had 5 babies), and we have two female babies of said litter in our collection. We would've waited a year before her second litter, but they had already been bred when we bought the pair, her POS was within a week of being in our care. That being said, she's incredibly healthy and has a good amount of girth, so we're not too worried. She'll probably take next season off.
Obligatory shot of one of last year's babies, Itzel:
