Snake laid eggs without being with a male in 15 years 0:54
(CNN) -
Keepers at the Saint Louis Zoo were surprised to see their oldest snake coiled around a clump of newly laid eggs because it hadn't been near a male in more than 15 years.
The ball python, which has been at the zoo since 1961, laid seven eggs on July 23, Mark Wanner, zoo manager of herpetology, told CNN.
"It was a surprise.
We weren't expecting it to drop another clutch of eggs, honestly, "he said.
The guardians had noticed some changes in the snake beforehand, but Wanner said they were subtle.
The snake does not have a name, but is identified by number 361003, according to the zoo.
He is believed to be at least 62 years old.
Ball pythons are native to central and western Africa and can reproduce asexually, which is known as facultative parthenogenesis, the zoo noted.
Wanner said that Komodo dragons and some other snakes and reptiles also reproduce asexually.
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Female ball python can also store sperm for late fertilization, but Wanner indicated that the longest documented case they found of that happening was seven years after contact.
She laid another clutch of eggs in 2009, but none of those eggs hatched and there are also no records of her being near a male.
Wanner says she could have been with a male in the late 1980s and early 1980s because keepers used to collect the snakes in buckets while cleaning their cages.
"We're talking about more than 15 years, but I mean, she's probably closer to 30 since she's been physically with a male," he said.
Scientists will perform genetic tests on two of the eggs.
Two eggs have died
Warner said they took two of the eggs for genetic testing to determine if the eggs reproduced sexually or asexually.
Two more eggs have died and the remaining three are hatching.
He said they hope to get the test results back in about a month.
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"We can't wait for the samples to be analyzed to get that information because that will put an end to any rumors or what we might think might or might not be," he said.
According to Wanner, ball python eggs are in the middle of their incubation.
"If they continue to live and develop, we expect them to hatch in the next two to three weeks," he said.
"We have our fingers crossed for one of these animals to be born, but we don't know for sure."
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