Ronaldo, a male Brazilian rainbow boa, has given birth to 14 babies.
But Ronaldo hasn’t been in contact with other snakes for two years.
„We couldn’t believe our eyes,” animal care technician Amanda McLeod said. „One of the students discovered them during a routine vivarium check.
„At first we thought she must have been mistaken.”
Peter Quinlan, reptile specialist at the college, explained that the birth came about due to the rare phenomenon of parthenogenesis.
This is a natural form of asexual reproduction, where embryos develop without fertilization.
It is known to take place in plants and some animals, Ronaldo’s pregnancy was only the third to be documented for a captive snake of its species in the world.
“Effectively, the babies are clones of their mother although their markings are all slightly different [….] Ronaldo had been looking slightly fatter than usual, like he’d eaten a big meal, but we never thought for a moment that he, or should we say she, was pregnant”, said Quinlan.
