The Preliminary Study on the Reproductive Biology of the Female Dice Snake in Mazandaran Province

The dice snake, Natrix tessellata belongs to the family Colubridae is a semiaquatic and diurnal snake lives in most zones of Iran . This study was conducted in order to the study of the female reproductive biology of this species from early April to November, 2012 in Mazandaran Province. Sixty three samples were collected diurnally by hand and net from four stations: Ab-Bandansar Fish Farming Pond, Shahid Zare Forest Park, Sari’s rice farms and Tajan River. The samples were anaesthetized by chloroform and after morphological and biometrical studies, were sectioned and their stomach, ovaries and oviducts were studied. The results shows that females start their activity and reproduction from early April after hibernation. The ovogenesis starts at early April, increased from mid May to late June. The oogenesis decreased from late July and ended in August. The oviposition occurs in late spring and early summer and juveniles are observed abundantly, from early August to September.