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Help! unexpected eggs

stxjoe May 03, 2007 07:25 AM

I have two corn snakes together. I was unsure of sex. This morning theres 5 oblong eggs in the water dish. Luckily the water dish is not full, but filled with pine shavings. The bottoms of most of the eggs were wet however. Is there anyway I can save these eggs from going bad? Thanks.

Jose

Replies (6)

black_wolf May 03, 2007 08:23 AM

that's the only way I know of, granted I'm not a breeder yet or anything. But CAREFULLY move the eggs to an incubator and incubate at, I think is was 85 F. A little bit of water shouldn't be anything to worry about.
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)

stxjoe May 03, 2007 08:30 AM

Yeah I removed them right side up except for one that was seperate from the others. I put them in a deli cup w/damp moss at approx. 83 degrees until I can get an incubator and hatchrite in a few hours. I got lucky because, work got cancelled today due to a power outage last night. Thanks.

Jose

mike17L May 03, 2007 12:43 PM

a good place to incubate is in the bottom of your kitchen trash can
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South Texas Herps

black_wolf May 03, 2007 04:06 PM

I've never heard of that. Why and how?
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)

draybar May 03, 2007 05:26 PM

>>I've never heard of that. Why and how?
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I think he was being a smart ass and basically meant throw them away.

Actually for just a few eggs I would put them in the incubation medium of your choice (I use sphagnum moss personally others prefer vermiculite or perlite) in a tupperware or similar type dish with no air holes and place this on top of the refrigerator or on top of a VCR or dvd player.
These places work well for incubating eggs.
Check them every few days and in about 55 to 60 days you just may have some little snakies.
If you get too much condensation in the container you need to add a little more media to help absorb the extra water and if the eggs start to dry and colapse add a little water to the media to increase the humidity.
If they mold, turn color or begin to smell throw them out.
But it is definitely worth giving them a try.

now about keeping the snakes together.....
I would like to give you something to read and think about

Co-habitation
Everyone makes their own decisions but I just thought I would offer my opinion and a few things to think about.

I feel it is best to keep snakes separate.
I know a lot of people can and do keep multiple snakes together without problems. I just feel the possible drawbacks need to be expressed.
When a person gets the experience and knowledge of each individual snake in his care, and wants to try co-habitation, it is up to them. They just need to be careful and observant enough to see and understand the subtle signs of stress in their snakes.
There can be definite drawbacks in co-habitation.
If one snake becomes sick there is a very good likelihood the other/others will get sick as well.
It may also take a while (usually too long) to determine which one is the sick one.
If one regurgitates its food you won't know which one unless you happen to get lucky and see it.
If one has a problem stool you won't know which one. Once again one may have a problem and by the time you figure out which one the other/others could end up with the same problem.
Although this is only a slight possibility, it is still a possibility and has been know to happen... one snake could eat the other. Cannibalism can and does occur with corn snakes. The smell of a prey item could trigger one snake to eat the other. Or simple hunger accompanied by a ready food source could do the same. Although uncommon, it has happened and is a possibility.
Another possibility is unwanted pregnancy. A female may become gravid and you may not have the knowledge, desire or ability to incubate the eggs, care for the hatchlings and find homes for them. With hatchlings comes added responsibility.
A lot of people rationalize by saying, "I will just put two males or two females together". That can work but mistakes can be made, especially with hatchlings. You could easily end up with a male and female.
There is also a chance of a female breeding too young or too small and becoming egg-bound. Although uncommon, it is a possibility and can happen.
With multiple snakes in the same enclosure you could easily loose them all if there happens to be an avenue of escape. Instead of losing one you could loose two or more depending on how many you decide to place together.
With multiple snakes in an enclosure, one or all of them could be stressed by the presence of the others. Stress can cause a drop in appetite and other health problems as well.
People will put multiple snakes in an enclosure and ask why one isn't eating.
When they are told it is probably due to stress caused by the other snake, the response is almost always the same "they like each other, they are always under the same hide together". Well this probably just means "that" hide or area of the tank has the optimum conditions they are looking for.
Snakes do not LIKE each other or ENJOY each other’s company.
There is no capacity for snakes to "like" or "enjoy".
I have kept multiple snakes together, without problems, but have made a choice to keep them separate. There are NO good arguments as to why you SHOULD keep them together but there ARE several good arguments as to why you SHOULD NOT.
So, in my opinion, although people do it successfully I just don't think it is worth the risk.
If you decide to keep multiple snakes together, watch closely for any signs of appetite loss, shedding problems, regurgitation or “personality” changes. These could all be signs of stress.
You would also want to feed them in separate containers and give them an hour or so before putting them back together.
My 2 cents
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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jyohe May 03, 2007 06:04 PM

thet are correct....above the fridge is warm........

ON the fridge can be a pain with the fridge acually shaking from it being opened all the time..

85 is too hot........82 is better....79 to 83 is ok

........don't bother with an incubator....

don't bother with HatchRite

sphagnum moss,perlite,vermiculite, whatever you can get easily and fast at a local hardware store....garden center

......5 eggs is odd.....there may be more to come......

IF more come the 5 may be duds......the rest good?....

water kills eggs........

read on here how to take care of and setup eggs.....

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