Reptile & Amphibian Forums

FINALLY!! today, i was greeted with 9 eggs from my snow brooks! After so much anticipation and patience, i am now panicked about my incubation setup. I have them in a shoebox, with 2" of vermiculite moistened to the point where I can form a ball with it (but very little draineage if squeezed). Then I have a thin layer of sphagum moss that the eggs are laid on. The shoebox has 1/4" holes drilled along the sides, a total of 16 holes all told. I have them in the top shelf of my dark closet.

Please let me know if you think I have it right!!

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1.0 C/B Brooks
0.1 C/B Lavender Brooks
0.1 C/B Snow Brooks
0.0.1 W/C Scarlet King (RIP)
0.0.1 W/C Eastern Milk
0.1 W/C Yellow Rat
0.0.1 W/C Western Garter
1.0 C/B Black Lab
1.0 C/B Min. PoodleXAmer. Eskimo hybrid
1.0 C/B Goofy Cat
1.2 C/B Children
0.1 W/C wife

I just put mine in damp vermiculite, but your setup sounds/looks fine. How old are those eggs?? Did you mist them with water before you took these pics?? You cant tell in the top pic, but they look a little too wet to me in the bottom pic..

~ Mike Russo

Id tape up the holes (maybe leave one hole )evaporation is the reason.Stuff can dry if ventilated for 2 months incub.
Maintain 99-100% humidity w/o drowning from too WET.
I use perlite no holes and can feel if the egg box needs water by weight,if so i pour a pint or so in the corners just for humidity factor

that dark pic shows Wet eggs"Slimers" That sometimes prove to be slugs according to my experience,But i hope they are not and you get babies.Good Luck Chris

Sorry to say, they do look like slugs, keep 'em going for a while, hope I'm wrong.
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Todd Hughes

I did mist them proir to pic. I hope you're wrong, but at least it will be a good "dry run"
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1.0 C/B Brooks
0.1 C/B Lavender Brooks
0.1 C/B Snow Brooks
0.0.1 W/C Scarlet King (RIP)
0.0.1 W/C Eastern Milk
0.1 W/C Yellow Rat
0.0.1 W/C Western Garter
1.0 C/B Black Lab
1.0 C/B Min. PoodleXAmer. Eskimo hybrid
1.0 C/B Goofy Cat
1.2 C/B Children
0.1 W/C wife

n/p

too wet
don't need the moss, I hate to use moss with eggs...people do it, I don't...
1/4 inch holes...you would need just one in the top....maybe 2......(I use 1/8 inch maybe and just 3?....topside...

...and the pic in the bottom , they all look like duds....

..sorry...good luck...keep them and see what happens....is they get all harder and yellow......you'll know fast enough...

oh...you want 79 to 82 degrees.....(I use 82 and then some...)...

good luck ...
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......118
......108/ 13-8
...........................
1(1.normal,.1mojave,2.1 spider mojaves)
2(1.normal,1.pastel,spider?Huh,.1blast)1 dud 2 boobs died...
3(2pastelghost,3pastel,1normal....)
4(2normal,7 pastel...)
5(1.pin,5normal...)
6(normal,pastel,pastel-ghost.....

I agree. Just verimiculite is fine and don't mist the eggs. If the moisture gets too low mist the vermiculite and do not mist the eggs.

I guess i was trying to break the news slowly in my first post, but I have to agree with these guys and say that I am nearly 100% certain that your eggs are bad. Of course give them time so that you are sure, but i really think they are no good.

~ Mike Russo

lets say they are. given that I witnessed copulation after about 6-8 weeks of trying, is this a case of simply nature not being ready. How can I find out if they are good? What may I have done wrong???
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1.0 C/B Brooks
0.1 C/B Lavender Brooks
0.1 C/B Snow Brooks
0.0.1 W/C Scarlet King (RIP)
0.0.1 W/C Eastern Milk
0.1 W/C Yellow Rat
0.0.1 W/C Western Garter
1.0 C/B Black Lab
1.0 C/B Min. PoodleXAmer. Eskimo hybrid
1.0 C/B Goofy Cat
1.2 C/B Children
0.1 W/C wife

maybe it wasn't you, maybe the male shot blanks, maybe it was you, maybe you missed her window. put them together starting a week or so after bringing them up, separate to feed, put 'em back, etc. Maybe you can try for a second clutch, feed her well, put him in, see what happens, give him a chance to "hit the mark"!
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Todd Hughes

Congrats on your first clutch, but I have to admit it, those eggs are looking iffy at best. Some clues to bad eggs are: Misshapen eggs (they should all be generally oval with no sharp points or strange angles) , yellowish eggs, eggs that appear slimy/wet, eggs that feel very soft when gently pressed...
But just to make sure the pics are correct, try to keep them for about a week and see if they change shape color or size at all. If they appear to darken, or still feel just as soft as the first day, or stay wet on top, or do not swell up at least a little bit, than they are probably bad.
I have hatched hundreds of kingsnake clutches: I use 84 degrees, I use vermiculite only and mix it 2 to 1: 2cups to one cup of water, or 4 cups with 2 cups of water. I put a good lid and NO HOLES in the container until day 55, then I will add some small holes, (in case I have an early hatchling). By then loss of moisture will be insignificant as the eggs usually hatch around 65 days (70-75 days if incubated at slightly cooler temps).
Make sure when you breed your kings, pair them up (after brumation), as soon as the female completes her first shed of the year. And always put the male in the female's cage (not the other way around as it is always the male that seeks out the female in the wild). This will reduce stress on the female (from relocation) - trust me, the male won't mind when he smells the female during that time of year! This way of breeding has worked for me almost 100 percent of the time. It has worked so good, that I have been able to double clutch some of my females in the past. Here's a pic of my clutches after hatching:

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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I taped up the holes and will hope for the best. I hope they are OK, but if not I can try again next year.

what color should they be? they weren't slimy at all, that was a bit of mist you saw. There certainly was one misshapened egg, but the others looked good. They were softer than I had anticipated.

damn, this sucks
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1.0 C/B Brooks
0.1 C/B Lavender Brooks
0.1 C/B Snow Brooks
0.0.1 W/C Scarlet King (RIP)
0.0.1 W/C Eastern Milk
0.1 W/C Yellow Rat
0.0.1 W/C Western Garter
1.0 C/B Black Lab
1.0 C/B Min. PoodleXAmer. Eskimo hybrid
1.0 C/B Goofy Cat
1.2 C/B Children
0.1 W/C wife

When i first saw your pic's yesterday I knew that they were no good.. I guess after seeing hundreds of both good and bad eggs you get an eye for it? Good eggs are (usually) bright white, and have a plump full shape to them. They also dry up, become firm and stick together very soon after deposition.. I know you misted your eggs just before taking the last pic, so if you want to take a pic in better light and repost we can take another look, but i think we already know what we will see.

I am certain that misting these eggs had nothing to do with them being bad it is really not a good idea to mist eggs.. So, in the future don't do that.

~ Mike Russo

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yeah, this description of yours does not bode well for me. They did not, in fact, stick together, and they are certainly not bright white.

Are we allowed to curse here??
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1.0 C/B Brooks
0.1 C/B Lavender Brooks
0.1 C/B Snow Brooks
0.0.1 W/C Scarlet King (RIP)
0.0.1 W/C Eastern Milk
0.1 W/C Yellow Rat
0.0.1 W/C Western Garter
1.0 C/B Black Lab
1.0 C/B Min. PoodleXAmer. Eskimo hybrid
1.0 C/B Goofy Cat
1.2 C/B Children
0.1 W/C wife

Well if they are white leathery and not slimey ,chances are good ,remember the humidity high and wetness low,this is why i prefer Perlite because gravity keeps the wetness low in the bottom 1" of 3-4 inches of the perlite. fingers crossed L8r C