Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Getula began laying eggs this morning. I found an egg in her nest box on my way to work. She then hopped out and started to crawl away. In the midst of all the action I forgot which way is up and down for the egg. After candling it. I only see light pink on one side of the egg. Can anyone tell me a trick to know which side should go up and which side down? Egg was laid flat...

If you don't know which side was up just set it up in your incubating material as you have had it positioned since. If it was good to start with it will make little to no difference in my opinion.
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Randy Whittington

I also agree with what Randy said. Even as the eggs are laid by the female they can get twisted and turned into the egg pile and oriented differently than when they were inside the female. It's really only after the embryo has already gotten itself oriented and established in it's final position during incubation that it would be a problem to turn it in a different position.

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

>>I also agree with what Randy said. Even as the eggs are laid Once they've been sitting, and the veins begin forming would it make a difference. Even then as Doug said it may not be a problem untill the embryo starts to develope. If memory serves me right I see a small spot on top side of most eggs even before veins develope, but as Randy said, just leave it the way it's been sitting.
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com

I have no idea what this means > "Even as the eggs are laid Once they've been sitting"
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com

It doesn't matter with kingsnake eggs. You can move them in any position and they will still hatch.

Mine get moved and turned sometimes when I change the medium 1- 1 1/2 months into incubation.

King eggs are tough.
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Thanks for the responses

with a side of bacon

Bad cornsnake eggs don't go to waste in my house

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"He's down in the basement staring at his snakes " My Wife

--< : < > < > < > < > < >~~~

Doug L

This has been answered already but, You have to consider, that egg has to squeeze out the females hindend, so they are not all that fragile.

From what you discribed, it sounds like a poor nesting, so if the egg fails, it may not have a thing to do with you flipping the egg or not.

With most eggs, they can be flipped or moved, but there are certain times when they cannot be. With kings, there is normally a good degree of embryo growth before the egg is deposited, So they are less prone of injury then some other types of reptile eggs. Also its more about speed of movement, then actual movement. They can be moved or rotated slowly.

You will see here that folks mark the top of eggs, thinking thats a good thing. If you think about it, the embryo normally migrates to the top, so that would be about the worse place to mark, the sides are much safer.

But then even writing on the top does not often cause a problem. hahahahahahahaha good luck

www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/library/onlinebio/BioBookDiversity_9.html
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Hi Bob, Try this, take a small LED flashlite and go to wherever you have your snake eggs. Turn out the lites and put the lite near the shell. I will lite up the inside and you can watch it develop. Yes, its candling, but you do not have to touch or lift the egg, you can do it in place.

Then as time goes by, do that with eggs as soon as they are laid.

ALso pay attention to days from last shed and embryo size. ITs very interesting.

After a while, you will be able to tell by the size of the embryo about when development first occurred. Have fun

oh by the way, the amniote egg is what reptiles are famous for. Cheers

I have been candling for fertility; no veins means no life. But it never occurred to me to see if I could further track the developement of the embryos as the weeks pass. Good suggestion! Thanks!
Remember this?

Unfortunately the babies didn't live.
forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1935948,1935948
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

HA HA! Yes i remember that. It is a great picture!
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Yeah, that is something else!
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