Dealing with egg bound snakes can be handled many different ways. I've talked to a great many people regarding this problem and everyone seems to have their prefered method of solving this issue. This is just my spin on it and by know means do I consider my self an expert or even successful in this area. All I breed are gray-banded kingsnakes, milk snakes and hognose snakes. My first successful breeding was in 1979. Most of my snakes will deposit their entire clutch within 24 hours after they start. Occasionally one will take a little longer but that usually indicates a problem. I had an alterna this season start laying 16 days after her pre-egg laying shed. Normally they lay 8-12 days after their pre-laying shed. She laid one egg at 16 days then 5 more 48 hours later. She laid 6 eggs total and only 1 appears good. I've had this happen before and usually all the eggs will be bad. I've had a great many snakes become egg bound during laying mostly larger milk snakes; andeans, hondurans, nelsoni and campbelli. I've tried many different methods to extract the eggs with mixed results. Unless the egg is really close to the vent they can be really hard to extract without damaging the snake. Massaging the eggs out can sometimes work but care must be given to prevent damage. I've tried exasperating eggs with disastrous results. The best luck I've had is soaking in luke warm water and letting them pass natually. I don't know if any of this is helpful but I wish you the best of luck with saving your snake and eggs! Stu

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