Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw a california king crossing the road and i slammed on the breaks and got it out of the way before another car came. I decided to take it home a few days ago. as of an hour ago im looking at a clutch of about 10 eggs.

I never hatched eggs before. I know i screwed up but whats done is done. how do i hatch these lil fellas?

vermiculite and water? peat moss? for the warmth can i just keep it in a guest room? im in a desert area and only have a swamp cooler. trust me its never less than 80 in here except my bedroom with the window air conditioner. I'm basically living in an incubator with the humidity from an evaporative cooler. after all she found it suitable enough to nest soon as i brought her in.

Id like a low budget solution since im not a breeder and dont plan on any profit i just wanna let them go in the foothills (unless one is really pretty)

got any advice for a dad who wasnt expecting?

Just get you a tuppaware container and put 2 small holes in the top, put some moist vermiculite in and put the eggs on top of the vermiculite. Then put the container where the temps aren't going to get too hot, so maybe on a closet floor. And in about 60-70 days they should hatch.

I would check with your state on the legality of releasing snakes back into the wild.

Kerby...
-----

Man, incubation is easy if you get the media and temp conditions in check. You can use vermiculite or peat moss. I use a pretty simple method. I soak the peat or vermiculite in water in a clean bucket, then grab handfulls and squeeze until no moisture drips out. The media is DAMP, not wet. I line the bottom of a shoe box or other plastic container large enough to hold the clutch with the damp media, punch one or two small holes in the top of the container lid, and add eggs. The important part is DO NOT turn the eggs at all after laid. Leave them in the top up position they were laid during the transfer to the incubation box. They can be separated, but not turned over. You do not have to separate them if they do not come apart easily and could damage them trying to pull apart. Just nest the eggs in small cavities of the media to partially cover the sides and place in an DARKENED area that maintains a temp of 75-85 degrees for two months. I am a bit leary covering the eggs too much with the media, so as an extra precaution I place DAMP (not wet) paper towels LOOSELY over the top of the eggs in the incubation boxes. This keeps moisture on the top of the eggs but allows air flow.

Good luck!! Whats done is done, but you can easily incubate the eggs, hatch them out, and release them back where you found the mom in the future!!

Yeah I live in Florida and I don't use any heating aparatus. Just find the right spot in your house as Kerby mentioned that won't get high heat spikes in the hot part of the day. It's ok for the eggs to cool a bit at night. Temps can fluctuate and if the eggs are fertile they will probably hatch. My vermiculite is on the dry side, I just use a spray bottle to keep it moist. Good Luck!

-----
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Thanks
The words and the pics are very helpful. I can see the marker dots are a bearing for which parts go up, and how throughly to cover them. The snake has been turning the eggs as its VERY active so for now im putting them in leaves papertowels till i can get something to retain moisture.

There shouldn't be any issue with releasing back into the wild as its native. found it about 5mi from my house, but its all farm land out here. I have not seen a patch of unturned soil for 50 square miles. (north of Bakersfield) how reptiles survive i have no idea with the tractors turning dirt every season. So im going to take them to the foothills.

I'll keep you guys updated

Remove the snake from the eggs if you haven't already.
-----
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Be selective where you release them. They need a food source. So fields with mice are the best. The foothills of the sierras has a drastic change in life zones. So a few hundred feet in elevation and change of habitst may not give the prey they need to survive.

My suggestion is look for where mice and lizards as well as other reptiles would be. An old dump. Someplace near water. Areas with old trash. etc.

Or you can just give them away to people who want a kingsnake from that area. post a pic here and lets see what the mother looks like. There might be some people here that are interested.
-----
www.Bluerosy.com

I've got a great place to take them. I work nights doing security somewhere near arvin and i've seen kings, rattlers, frogs, about 30 mice a night running around. only problem is the roadrunners, they eat snakes right? its on the edge of farm land and the foothills with no roads or people.

here is an image of the mother and when i get the eggs tucked away i'll upload a pic of those too for anyone curious.