Reptile & Amphibian Forums

She had five eggs a couple days ago, and I took her out to feed today and she wouldn’t eat. So I checked and I still felt like two eggs. Will she have them or will she absorb them? Should I not worry or should I take her to the vet? How do I tell if the eggs are fertile?

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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

She won't absorb the remaining eggs. The 2 times that I had egg retention, they ended up dropping them eventually...sometimes weeks later.

And those eggs in the pic do not look fertile.

Kerby...
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Lonesome Valley Reptiles
www.lonesomevalleyreptiles.com
Specializing In California Kingsnakes

What’s wrong with them why don't they look fertile? What do fertile eggs look like?
Thanks
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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

The eggs in your picture are yellow and wet looking.. Which means they are not good..

In comparison to these nice bright white eggs which are good.

~ Mike

Ok thanks Mike you have been alot of help. Yea I threw them out today they started turning green and smelling pretty bad. Oh well maybe next year.
Thanks
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Josh Delaney

Delaney Colubrids

I am sorry to say that those 5 eggs are not fertile. You can keep them in the incubator for a while, but they will end up rotting in a few days.

Im my experiance they will not reabsorb fully formed eggs, but she may pass them in time.

~ Mike

Those eggs don't look fertile to me either, but I always incubate everything until its purple, green and gooey. I have had a few surprise me.

In terms of the eggbound female it is your call. Many people have had females pass the eggs weeks, or even months later on their own. Sometimes these females go on to breed normally the next year.

However I will remind you that eggbinding can be a fatal condition for many snakes and if it were me and she hasn't passed the egg in a few more days I would take her to the vet. Especially if she is not eating.

In the mean time make sure she has a dark, humid, and secure nest box

I don't know how well this works for reptile eggs, but you could try candling - take a flashlight and hold it up to the egg in a dark room. You should be able to see veins and maybe even the embryo. For birds at least this is a reasonable method to determining whether eggs are fertile or not.

np