A snake, presumed to be male, gave birth to 14 snakelets despite never mating. The little reptiles were produced at City of Portsmouth College by Ronaldo, a 13-year-old boa constrictor. Pete Quinlan, a college animal care technician, assumed Ronaldo was male until the delivery. He verified to BBC that throughout the nine years he was taking care of her, “she had not had contact with a male” snake. However, during a routine check, it was discovered by one of the students that the snake had given birth, shocking everyone.
“We couldn’t believe our eyes,” Amanda McLeod, an animal care technician, told Sky News.
McLeod told the channel they originally believed the student had been “mistaken.”
Parthenogenesis, a rare condition, is what caused the birth, according to Quinlan.
Parthenogenesis, an organic form of asexual reproduction in which embryos grow without fertilisation, is a phenomenon linked to a “virgin birth.”
Female snakes fertilise eggs using genetic material that would otherwise be wasted during the egg-laying process as sperm. In snakes, parthenogenesis is rare yet possible.
After 50 years of breeding snakes, Quinlan told The Independent, “I’ve never known this happen before,” expressing his disbelief at Ronald’s unexpected babies.
According to the BBC, Quinlan saved Ronaldo from the RSPCA nine years ago.
The reptile specialist informed the news agency that he brought the snake collection with him after he began working in animal care at the institution two years ago.
Quinlan stated that although Ronaldo appeared somewhat bulkier than normal as if he had recently consumed a large meal, they had never considered the possibility that the snake was pregnant.
Many insects and other invertebrates can reproduce asexually—that is, without ever mating.
Usually, they clone themselves and create genetically identical progeny in the process.
As far as captive snakes go, Ronaldo’s was just the third pregnancy of its kind ever reported worldwide.
The infants are almost clones of their mother, notwithstanding the little variations in their marks.
Now, Quinlan has put up a cage for each newborn snake and is looking for their new homes.
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