Reptile & Amphibian Forums

in your guys opinions is is wrong when you find a freshly run over gravid female that is dead.to save her eggs?..I ask this becuase last night on my way home from work right in front of mei saw a snake in the other lane and on oncoming car got it of course! my luck I finaly find a live snake on the road and someone runs it over..but I stopped anyways and it was a swollen patchnose, she looked like she was going to drop her eggs any minute..so I took her home and carefully removed the eggs and put them in an incubator,They seem to be good.but I felt bad doing so..just hated to see them go to waste?..there was five huge eggs total,all the yolk sac had been absorbed and they were ready to be layed..anyways just curious...

I'm not squeamish about keeping any wild animal for several reasons. First I believe nature belongs to everyone. Second I think the ultimate goal of most collectors is to breed them (which is why a permit allows up to 2 of each species), so in theory at least we can someday return the favor. Third I believe we have a worthy cause even if its just to share our knowledge on this site, and that collectors are a better cadre of people than say the person who ran that snake over in the road. Whenever I see a DOR or any dead animal I feel we are morally unimpeachable by anyone who doesnt care or even those who are merely not interested. There was a time when every specimen I used for programs was rescued from the highway which made me feel I had a right to them (although releasing of course can be twice as rewarding). Another reason could be that although we post our individual finds, cherish them and even give them names, the field of ecology teaches there are no individuals, only populations. In their world an individual is expendable because nature is harsh and cruel. This last reason may seem odd, but I feel for a snake or even a fish caught by me because I've been in situations where I felt trapped, so that's something to keep in mind when we decide to domesticate an animal or recreate its habitat.

Len

Ethics aside, it is highly unlikely that the eggs will survive. If the eggs were still inside the snake (e.g. she had not laid them yet) then they're probably not at a point where they can survive being outside the female's body.

Tim

There are no ethics involved in this one, IMO, the snake was dead, harvesting the eggs likely won't produce young, but I would try anyway, as Tim said, if they weren't laid, they probably weren't ready to be outside, but you never know. For sure they wouldn't hatch left on the road, ant food...
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Todd Hughes

I agree. Better to try than leave them to the ravens.

Matthew

there was five huge eggs total,all the yolk sac had been absorbed and they were ready to be layed..anyways just curious...

.........you mean the yolk was fully covered in shell?

anyways...ethics...yea...that's GOOD ethics...you are trying to save the otherwise dead ,road wasted babies that would just die along with the mother ...

Thanxx, do it always, and good luck....

ethics...

save what tyou can ,as in the eggs or hurt animals(or eat them)

leave the area like you left it (SerpenCo has a page on this "Nowhere to Run ,Nowhere to Hide"

take only what the area can afford to give, what you need

tell what you think, try not to lie, breed what you want, feed often,take care of feeders as well as reptiles, don't ask to play with stuff at shows (dirty hands suck)...LOL...

anyways......YOU DID A GOOD THING >...!....

.
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If the eggs are shelled,there is a good chance they will hatch.it has been done before.As far as etchics,You are DEFYING DESTINY.DO IT. Vic

thanks guys, i kinda thought it was the right thing to do but you never know these days..its been a few days and all five eggs seem to still be ok...

Just remember if you are lucky enough to find copperhead eggs, they must be placed parallel to magnetic north, else they will not hatch.

Nice joke or is that yolk?? LOL
But copperheads are live bearers ( sort of) as are most pit vipers.

Matthew