Reptile & Amphibian Forums

one of my females laid 8 eggs last night. all appear fine but she is paying no attention to them. i have no access to an incubator at this time. whats the best course of action to save this eggs? this is my first time dealing with egg laying snakes so any help or advise would be great. thanks for your time.

You can purchase a egg incubator at pretty much any farm supply store but if you can't afford that right now you will need to purchase a bag of Vermiculite.Lowes usually has this for $4.00 a bag,you will also need a small shoebox size rubbermaid container,easily purchased at walmart.Punch some holes in each end of the container.Fill the container about 2" high with the vermiculite mix in water while stirring with your hand to make the moisture consistant. Do not add to much water or they will perish on you.when you are done mixing the mixture should feel lightly damp but you should not be able to pick up a lump and squeeze the water out of it.the next step is to put the lid on and set them in a closet or somewhere out of drafts and that stay pretty much at a constant temperature.Check on them about every 3 to 4 days to check for them drying out .If the vermiculite feels to dry mist them.Hope this helps its kind of hard to put it in words when your use to just doing it .Good Luck. John

>>one of my females laid 8 eggs last night. all appear fine but she is paying no attention to them. i have no access to an incubator at this time. whats the best course of action to save this eggs? this is my first time dealing with egg laying snakes so any help or advise would be great. thanks for your time.

Follow the instructions given above.
After making your incubator box, a good ploace for it is on top of a refrigerator or VCR. Just enough warmth generated to keep your eggs at a good constant temp.
As stated in the post above, check on them every few days and if you notice them begin to collapse check the moisture of the vermiculite. You might need to add a little water on occaision.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

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ok i just got home and checked the eggs. i got them in the same tub as the mom on top of my boa cage. a few eggs were very slightly collapsed so i misted the eggs and then put some moist newspaper for now on the eggs. tomorrow i will get the vermiculite and do things right. i got this snake from a buddy and did not know she was gravid until the eggs popped out, what a surprise. before any of my personal corns are ready to breed next year i will definetly do my homework and have a plan in order. thanks for the help

>>ok i just got home and checked the eggs. i got them in the same tub as the mom on top of my boa cage. a few eggs were very slightly collapsed so i misted the eggs and then put some moist newspaper for now on the eggs. tomorrow i will get the vermiculite and do things right. i got this snake from a buddy and did not know she was gravid until the eggs popped out, what a surprise. before any of my personal corns are ready to breed next year i will definetly do my homework and have a plan in order. thanks for the help

You don't want them in the same tub as the mom.
They need to stay in the same basic position they were laid.
You need to try to keep "up" up. The mother moving around can turn the eggs. Try to get them in a seperate container as quick as possible.
one quick suggestion
get Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide
by Kathy and Bill Love
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____