Experienced snakes have been left scratching their heads after laying seven eggs – though no male companion has come into contact for over two decades.
The St. Louis Zoo revealed that the 62-year-old ball snake laid seven eggs despite not being close to a male python for 20 years.
“Something incredible has happened,” the zoo posted on social media earlier this week.
“A snake ball has laid eggs! That may not sound very exciting to some, but to our Herpetarium staff it definitely was. This specific female snake is over 50 years old (the oldest snake documented in a zoo) and has not been with a male for over 15 years. !
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The unnamed snake laid the seven eggs on July 23.
According to th St. Louis Post-DispatchOnly five of those eggs survived. Three of them are in an incubator and the other two are being used for genetic sampling to see how this is possible.
The eggs should hatch in about a month.
He told Mark Wanner, director of reptile science at the St. Louis Zoo News agency It is unusual but not uncommon for a ball to reproduce asexually.
Snakes can store sperm to delay fertilization. But in this case, this could mean that the female snake has stored sperm for more than 15 years.
Wanner said childbirth is also unusual because globular snakes usually stop laying eggs long before they reach their 60s.
“It would definitely be the oldest snake we know in history (to lay eggs),” Wanner said.
Social media users found this funny.
One person tweeted, “62, single, and living her best life.”
Another said, “This snake is an inspiration for independent women everywhere.”
They should call her Mary. Obviously, ‘Someone mocked on Twitter.
