Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first year breeding. and i started coupling the first week in march they have locked up roughly a dozen time from then to now. i checked on my female today and the back half of her is REALLY swollen. im guessing this is ovulation? she has not shed since the last week in feb. she is also not interested in locking up any more. should i continue placing them together? what should i expect from here?

If the males sperm was viable, and the eggs themselves were also good, you will see the entire rear half of the female swell and become heavy and more solid with the growing viable eggs.

Just after her next shed, you should put a "lay box" inside her enclose that is filled with lots of fluffy slightly moistened sphagnum moss. About 5 to 10 days after her prey-lay shed, she will deposit the eggs. If you observe her closely, you will tend to see her going in and out of the box checking things out now and then, and approx. one to two days before actually laying, she will just stay there until she lays the clutch.

After she lays, mark all the tops of the eggs, and transfer into slightly moistened vermiculite, and nestle the eggs mark-side-up into a dimpled "cradle" into the vermiculite to where about 3/4th's of the egg is still exposed.

Incubate at 80-81 degrees or so, and in around 55-60 days, they should begin to hatch.

good luck!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

This is also my first breeding of colubrid snakes(all my vipers are live bearing) why do you mark the eggs and what do you use to mark them? Btw I have two gravid eastern chain kings. Thanks

Dustin
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Dustin Smith

you cannot turn the eggs over you must keep them in the same position that they were laid. because the embryo will drown if not placed how it was laid. so marking the top of the egg with a pen will ensure that you dont roll the egg over.

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Oh ok, thanks! That is definately a need to know. Will the female not roll the eggs some during laying?
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Dustin Smith

They can(and do) easily get rolled when layed, and this is only realistic, and doesn't hurt anything at all initially. But far more importantly, once they have started to develop later on, it is more critical that they are not turned at ALL, as this can cause the yolk to calapse around the fixed embryo that is already become situated, and smother it, or even detach the embryo from the inner egg wall.

A very MAJOR reason for marking them is when you gently take them out to re-dampen the medium and remix it up good again. If they are marked and should roll accidentally, you can immediately situate them back to the way they were. But I don't even like the idea of them rolling at all even for a few seconds to be honest if I can at all avoid it, and I always set them in a crumpled up towel and place the eggs in the little "valley" wrinkles while I'm re-moistening the egg medium to keep them from accidentally turning.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

What Dmong said. The female will lay approx 10 days after shed. You could put the nesting box in earlier so she will get to know it (nesting) and then not retain the eggs. If the female is allowed to nest she may lay earlier than 10 days after shed.

Don't leave the male in with her or he will eat her eggs.
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www.Bluerosy.com

10-4 guys! yall are a big help. ive got all my nesting materials set up and ready. my incubator temp needs to be between 80 and 84 degrees an the humidity needs to be about 60%? again thanks a lot guys!

my incubator temp needs to be between 80 and 84 degrees an the humidity needs to be about 60%? again thanks a lot guys!

An incubator is not necessary for kingsnake eggs. i have seen more accidents with incubators than not.

Just moisten some perlite, add eggs and stick the shoebox in a closet. Viola', babies.
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www.Bluerosy.com

i was wondering if i couldn't just do that. i live in GA and my house stays between 78 and 80. do you think that would be ok?

Yes, that will work fine, slightly cooler temps just take a few days longer to hatch is all(within reason of course). You can even put a heating pad close to them set on whatever setting it takes in the closet to get the desired temp. Just put an accurate thermometer inside with the eggs and experiment to see what setting, and what distance achieves this, but make sure to monitor this very carefully and often until you see things level out very dependably.

For each degree cooler in temp, it is generally egual to about two days longer hatch time. I would still shoot for a nice safe "target" temp of 80 to 81 degrees, and if it should ever temporarily waiver either side of this a couple degrees for whatever reason(s), you are still very much in the safe zone with the eggs.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

awesome! thanks again.

For marking eggs, I use a pencil or a water solulable felt tip pen- so that there's no possibility of pen ink hurting the embryo if it is absorbed through the shell. I have also placed egg boxes on heating pads set for 80-85 degress and it worked fine.