Snake Named Ronaldo, Thought to Be Male, Shocks Caretakers by Having 14 Babies in 'Virgin Birth'

A Brazilian rainbow boa named Ronaldo, believed to be male by his caretakers, had a "virgin birth" recently, resulting in the arrival of 14 baby snakes.

The City of Portsmouth College in southern England, which cares for Ronaldo, shared in a press release that the school's researchers thought the reptile was male until Ronaldo gave birth because a veterinarian had declared the boa to be a boy.

Ronaldo was later determined to be a female snake. Before anyone knew, she stunned students and researchers alike when she recently gave birth after having not been in contact with any other snakes for at least nine years.

Ronaldo, who is 13 years old, is believed to have given birth through a rare type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis, or a "virgin birth," which is when an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg without fertilization.

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The birth of Ranaldo's 14 baby snakes is believed to be the third-ever recorded case of a virgin birth in a Brazilian rainbow boa.

"One of the students discovered them during a routine vivarium check. At first, we thought she must have been mistaken. We couldn't believe our eyes!" said animal care technician Amanda McLeod in the release.

According to one of the school's reptile specialists, Ronaldo has been gaining weight recently, but no one suspected the source of the weight gain to be a pregnancy.

"I've been breeding snakes for 50 years, and I've never known this happen before," said reptile specialist Pete Quinlan. "Effectively, the babies are clones of their mother, although their markings are all slightly different."

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"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," added Quinlan, who had been taking care of the snake for the nine years since the RSPCA rehomed her.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for the students to learn about the development of baby snakes," Quinlan concluded.

He's currently working on determining the sex of the 14 babies, who will eventually be sent to new homes.