A 5.5-metre (18-foot) python that mated with a snake half its size has given birth to a whopping 62 baby snakes – double the usual number of offspring.
Reticulated python Saffron had shown little interest in breeding when she was purchased by owners Jen and Andy Webb in Southeast Asia seven years ago.
The couple, from Gloucester, had given up hope of her having offspring when they put the nine-foot male Fire python in her enclosure to show how much bigger Saffron was.
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A 5.5-metre (18-foot) python that mated with a snake half its size has given birth to a whopping 62 baby snakes – double the usual number of offspring.
Saffron the reticulated python was imported from South East Asia seven years ago and “discarded” by her owners Jen and Andy Webb after she showed no interest in breeding.
But when they put a nine-foot male python in her enclosure at their reptile store simply to show off how much bigger she is, the pair mated, with Saffron laying an impressive 62 eggs on Valentine’s Day.
The eggs were placed in an incubator and hatched last week. They will spend at least a week in the cracked egg before molting.
But the pair mated and Saffron laid an impressive 62 eggs on Valentine’s Day, which were placed in an incubator.
Twelve weeks later, all have hatched and produced baby snakes measuring between 30 and 38 centimetres long.
The new arrivals, born last Saturday, will spend about a week inside the cracked egg before molting.
Each will be fed three meals of thawed baby rats once a week and could be ready for sale within a few weeks.
Each will be fed three meals of thawed baby rats once a week and could be ready for sale within a few weeks.
