Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just taking a few hatchling corns out of the incubator. Three siblings to be exact. I grabbed them all in one hand. One of the snakes immediately struck at one of the other snakes. It got it by the head and tried to possition it better. I was about 5 feet from my camera, but before I could get to it, the snake let go of its sibling's head.

Do you think it would have eaten the sibling right out of the egg(within 2 hours of hatching), or was it just striking in fear? Opinions would be great.

I house my snakes individually, so no fear of this one eating a sibling, but I was just curious.
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

Kings have been known to try to eat each other (not often but happens) right out of the egg. I suppose a corn could too.

I've had kings eat pinkies within an hour of hatching.

I suspect it was just fear strike though.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.2 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

I keep each cltutch of hatchlings together until they shed (except with kings). Right after they shed I separate them. I've never had one eat another; I've been doing it this way over 10 years.
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Mike Heinrich,
708-428-5616
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
http://www.amazontreeboa.org

I asked a buddy (with much more experience than myself), if I should separate my Corn hatchlings right out of the egg like I do the Kings. He said normally Corns don't bother each other, but he has had a Corn eat a sibling before. He produces 500 or more Corns a year.

So, I took the Corn hatchlings out of the incubation container as they left the egg, and put them all in a shoe box together with damp Sphagnum Moss and a water bowl. I marked the shoe box label each time I put a hatchling(s) in, so I knew exactly how many had hatched. I always counted the empty eggs and all that. I even mark on the shoe box when I take sheds out, so I know when all the snakes have shed. I had one Corn come up missing out of 140 hatchlings so far.

There's no way it escaped from the shoe box, and I had one extra egg shell from that clutch. I know for sure it wasn't eaten between the time it hatched and when it was put in the shoe box, so it happened during the 10 days it took for all the hatchlings to shed.

I think I'll separate anything I want to keep right away, just in case.

RC