Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My mosaic cal female laid 9 eggs on April 27th, less than a month after breeding. I'm still undecided on whether or not the eggs were produced from that breeding, or a past breeding. One female bred to that same male laid 11 good eggs, and the other female has yet to lay eggs, a month after shedding...

But the mosaic laid eggs, ate a couple big meals, shed, and looked gravid again, I was assuming she was just ovulating again. I gave her a nesting box probably a week ago just incase.

Tonight when I checked on her she was eating an egg.
There was another 8 in the nesting box, and it looks like she ate 2 or 3 others. Out of the remaining 8 I'd say at least 4 of them are bad for sure, 2 look good, but they're almost all stuck together so I'll just have to wait and see.

I wonder if she'll lay more this year.

Would've been a good pic if my camera was any good, lol.

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www.kingpinreptiles.com

They only eat the good ones.

Next time just remove the eggs as she lays. Thats what I do.
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I don't know how you do that really...
When my snakes have a nesting box I check on them once a day, and even then I feel like that's too much of a disturbance for them. Granted I probably could've got all the eggs from her if I had checked this afternoon before work but I didn't get the chance to, so she was possibly just curled up with them until around midnight when she got hungry. And the 3 times I have uncovered snakes in the process of laying (2 ringnecks and the last cal king I had lay eggs) they stopped immediately and didn't continue for some time. Thanks for the advice though, I had no idea females eating eggs was as much of a problem until I saw you posting about it this year.
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www.kingpinreptiles.com

I don't use a nesting box. I lay tile on damp orchid moss.

When i lift, I steal the eggs and put the tile back down.

Quick, easy and less disturbance for the female.

Eggs are easy to get to as well.
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The female consuming her own eggs is not normal. Its a product of poor nesting, a disruption of normal behavior.

Its a clear sign that something is wrong. Its up to you to figure out what that may be.

The nesting event has three basic parts,1. finding/making the nest,2, deposition of eggs, then 3, leaving/closing the nest. The inability to complete that often causes abberant behavior.

When depositing the eggs, they coil in a basic circle, moving around in that circle when depositing the eggs in the middle of the coils. This leaves a air space all around the eggs. That is normal.

In the picture I provided, you can clearly see that.

The picture is a nesting thats deep, secure and normal. That is, the female dug down, made the chamber, deposited the eggs, then came up and covered all holes.

Nesting behavior is one of the KEY behaviors that allows these wonderful animals to exsist.

I hope before some of you get all silly, you would just look at the picture, then compare that picture to the pictures you see of eggs scattered in a spahgnum moss box. There is clearly a difference.
Also, I understand that its common for many your animals to nest successfully. please understand, this example is for the times nesting fails. Which is what I am concerned with. Or for keepers who just want to see something interesting.

Please consider, this is an option, its not forcing you to do anything. So if whatever your doing is working, wonderful, keep it up. Cheers

Thanks for that. I used a variety of boxes and moss recently. My king didnt seem pleased with any of them. Can you explain a little further about the type of container and size u are useing, peat moss or dirt there? Do you lock the snake in at some point or just give them the option to come and go?

Just send the snapper, I will send the camera.
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Gerard

"Sleep my friend and you will see, your dreams are my reality. "

www.livebaitclip.com

GONE FISHING!!!

haha, I hope I can get a good camera for much less than that!
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www.kingpinreptiles.com

Tough luck but cool photo.