Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone, iv only just joined the furums so please be gentle or

I have recently purchased an adult female Pueblan milksnake, it is six years old and in very good health.
well today i found two soft slimmy eggs in her hide box which was completely unexpected , after an inspection of her i can feel about 6 more eggs, what is concerning me is that she isnt going back into her box to lay the others.

i have changed the dry material in her hide box to damp sphagnum moss and i know the first to eggs are bad.

the temperatures in her viv are 84 at the warm end and 75/6 at the cool end.

Any ideas of what i should do next.

Thankyou
Trilum

Trilum,
A few things. I would find out the recent history on this animal from the individual or establishment you purchased it from. Did they have this animal housed with any males while there? Were they possibly introducing her to males to maybe breed her? And were they aware of the few eggs present before they sold her off to you?
It's obvious that she has expelled 2 infertile eggs, which is not uncommon. Many times this occurs shortly after the female undergoes her pre-egg laying shed. The 6 remaining eggs could very well be fertile so setting up a nest box was a good idea. If gravid, your female may become restless for days, constantly visiting the nest box and aimlessly moving about the cage. She will settle down once she is close to laying the eggs, roughly 7 to 12 days after the shed, give or take a few days. Remember to remove the water bowl at this time so the eggs don't end up drowning either.
It is possible that the remaining eggs are infertile as well. You might find more "slimy" looking eggs or small hard jellybean-like eggs. Just be patient and have a watchful eye, not to stress her in the process.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Nathan Wells

Hi Nathan
Thankyou for your reply.
Iv had an email back from the previous owner after asking some more questions, his reply was that the female was kept in with a male but he did not observe any breeding at all and he only kept them as pets not as a breeding project, he had to get rid of them because of presure from his landlord, the male was sold first and i had the female which shed its skin about 4 weeks ago and has eaten 1 large mouse each week since, they were originaly purchased from a show in NY last year.

I have now removed the water bowl and added an extra hide with damp moss to the middle of her viv where the temperature is at 80 and she has gone in it and is staying their with her head popped out of the hole.iv also covered the front of her viv with news paper just incase i was making her nervous, is that ok to do ?.

How often should i check to see if their are eggs laid.

Thanks again for your help.

Trilum

My female Pueblan milksnake ended up laying 3 bad eggs and 4 big white slightly bobbly textured eggs, iv set up a fish transport box made from polystyrene with heat tape at the bottom and put the 4 eggs in a plastic tub half filled with moist vermiculite and popped a few pin holes in the plastic tubs lid.
The temperature is steady at 84f and the humidity is 92%.
i hope iv done everything right.
My lovely female is looking very sad ( real skinny ) how long should i wait before i can feed her and should i put the water bowl back, she doesnt feel like she has any more eggs inside.

Im so shocked that iv even got eggs, iv been a nervous mess this last few days.
i feel much better now its over.
how long will it be before the eggs hatch.

Trilum