Quote Originally Posted by chris-uk View Post
Not the best outcome. I think it's a case of keeping her fed up to get her weight back on, then brumate her in the autumn to line up a more successful breeding season next year. If you shack them up again before brumating Fawn she's going to be using old ova, perhaps what she needs is a good brumate to stimulate fresh ova production. And Sod's Law would have it that she'd show signs of gravidity just as you're preparing to brumate her if you put them together again this year.
I'm pretty sure vitellogenesis is triggered by bodymass and not brumation in thamnophis . It's the males that need the cold snap more for better sperm motility/viability. The way she's been going there's nothing to say she won't naturally try again in 3/4 months time once she's all fed up again. I'm inclined to let her mate to make sure it's not yet another wasted effort, I'm still trying to decide actually, I'm not 100% for it yet but I may put Slithers in the cupboard just in case.