Posted by Claudia Crandall on September 30, 2005

Q: A friend gave us a copperhead snake 7 months ago, which he has had in captivity for more than 4 years (he is a herper and completely trustworthy with that timeframe information). She has not been with a male (or any snake) since it was aquired. Last Sunday it gave birth to one live young. The baby is doing well and I am waiting for the first molt to offer a pinky mouse. How can a birth like this happen? I know some snakes will retain sperm after mating and can give birth a couple of years later, but 5 years seems extreme. Is asexual reproduction possible with copperheads (like in some amphibians)? Can DNA be determined from the shed skin?

Thank you for your opinion,

Claudia in Texas

A: Wow, 5 years really does seem like a long time! You're correct that reptiles can hold viable sperm within their bodies and fertilize eggs long "after the fact" but I haven't heard of one quite this long. If you know a herpetologist (maybe at a local university) that you can talk to, they may be able to provide some answers to this issue. To the best of my knowledge, asexual reproduction is not possible in reptiles.

Sounds as though you're quite familiar with reptiles so I assume that the size of the pinkies will not be too large for the baby - I've never seen a baby Copperhead.

DNA is found within cells so if the shed skin still has material within some of the cells, I can't see why you wouldn't be able to acquire some DNA.

Good luck to you and your snakes.

John Wiessinger ( October 4, 2005)