1/ Average clutch size for hondurans:



It all depends on how you want to count. My clutch sizes ranged from three to fifteen eggs. Here's some hastily-gathered data:



--Of my first 18 "good" clutches (those with some fertility) I got 167 eggs, for an average of 9.3 eggs per clutch. Of these, about 88 percent appear fertile.



--Excluding one clutch of 15 eggs, only 4 of which were fertile, gives an average clutch size of 9.0 eggs/clutch, 93% of which were fertile.



--However, during this same time (though mostly toward the end of the laying period) I also got five infertile clutches (most bred to a substitute male starting late in the season after the first male didn't breed or produced almost no viable sperm when he did breed). For reasons I cannot explain (though coincidence is certainly one possibility) those clutches were smaller, averaging only 5 eggs per clutch. If they are included in the total, the 23 clutches averaged 8.3 eggs/clutch, with 76% fertility.



2/ Why sphagnum instead of the alternatives?



it's low tech: I don't have to weigh things, measure ratios, etc: I soak it, I squeeze it out, I use it, it works. And fwiw, it seems to create an environment most like what i think snakes seek out in the wild. I have no data to reflect on the issue, but it's worth wondering whether the cases I see reported of snakes laying in their water bowls, etc., are instances where full layboxes of sphagnum were available, or whether some of the (imho) more synthetic/artificial media were offered. (I did have one clutch laid outside the laybox, something I can't remember happening before with good eggs. Happily, i discovered them shortly after they were laid, rinsed them in cool water to remedy any (not observable) drying, and they appear to be developing normally). None of the females laid in their water bowls).



peace

terry

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