Bajsa’s Surprise Second Clutch

Life with a hognose snake is never boring—and Bajsa just proved that again! After already giving us a beautiful clutch of eggs earlier this year, we were completely surprised when she started looking a little… rounder. She hadn’t been paired with a male again, so we weren’t expecting more eggs. But her growing belly had us wondering: could she really be carrying a second clutch?

We tried palpating (gently feeling) her belly to check for eggs, but nothing felt obvious. That’s not unusual when it comes to slug eggs—these infertile eggs are softer and harder to detect by touch compared to fertile ones. So for a while, we figured maybe she was just enjoying her food a bit too much.

But then, out of nowhere, she surprised us again. The morning after a big meal, Bajsa looked like she was about to have a big poop… but instead, out came a slug egg!

We rushed to set up a lay box for her—just like last time—filled with moist moss and a hole to crawl into. These boxes create the ideal humid environment to encourage egg laying.

Bajsa seemed to know what it was for and settled in right away. We hoped the rest of the eggs would follow soon.

But… nothing happened.

Hour after hour passed. Then the sun went down, and still no more eggs. At that point, we started to worry. Could she be egg-bound? That’s when a snake can’t pass her eggs, and it can become serious if not resolved. We decided to give her a little more time, keeping a close eye on her.

The next morning, still no progress—and now she looked even more bloated. We tried a warm soak, a trick that can help encourage muscles to relax and stimulate contractions. But after an hour with no change, it was time to call the vet.

We packed Bajsa gently into a travel box lined with moss and headed to the clinic.

At the vet’s office, they took an x-ray, but—as we suspected—slug eggs didn’t show up clearly. Unlike fertile eggs, slugs don’t have the same density and structure, so they can be harder to see on imaging.

To help things along, the vet gave Bajsa a small dose of Oxytocin, a hormone that promotes muscle contractions (basically giving her body the signal to "push"). Amazingly, before we even got back home, one egg had already come out in the box!

We placed Bajsa back into her lay box, gave her peace and quiet, and waited. By the end of the day, she had laid ten more eggs. Unfortunately, all of them were slugs—non-viable and infertile. But honestly, we didn’t mind. The most important thing was that Bajsa was safe, healthy, and recovering.

This experience was stressful, but it taught us a lot about what to watch for, how to respond quickly, and the importance of having a good reptile vet you can trust.

Bajsa’s surprise second clutch reminded us just how unpredictable reptile keeping can be. Even without a male around, female snakes can retain sperm from earlier pairings or just produce slugs without fertilization. Either way, you always need to be ready for the unexpected.

We’re so grateful Bajsa pulled through like the little warrior she is, and we’re even more prepared for whatever she throws our way next.

Stay tuned for more updates from our reptile family—and if you’ve ever had a similar surprise clutch or experience with egg-binding, we’d love to hear your story in the comments!

And as always - stay happy, stay curious, and give your hoggie a gentle boop from me.