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Hey i found eggs in the water bowl of a prairie kingsnake i rescued a couple days ago. The eggs were not fully submerged in the water so i was wondering if they still might be ok?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated

>>Hey i found eggs in the water bowl of a prairie kingsnake i rescued a couple days ago. The eggs were not fully submerged in the water so i was wondering if they still might be ok?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated

They may make it......wouldn't hurt to try an incubate them.....
Did you know it was gravid?
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Have to agree with Mr. Lassiter... it certainly would still be worthwhile trying to hatch them out.

What I'm more curious about is just what did you "rescue" it from?

Gerry

I agree in a big way. DONT THROW THEM IN THE DRINK UNTIL THEY STINK!!! I have had some crazy looking eggs turn out to be good and if they were not in the water for long they very well could make it.

Joe

Sorry to be a downer, but I've never had eggs survive that were laid in water. Even if they were only partially submerged. They soak up the water like a sponge.

That said, I never tossed the eggs until they were definitely bad. Who knows, maybe you caught them in time. Incubate them & let us know what happens.

P

Thanks for the input.. i suspected it might be gravid thats y the water bowl wasn't full only had about a cm of water in it. In hind sight i wish i would have pulled the water bowl. This is the first time i have had a snake that didnt use the nest box with damp moss in it. It was rescued from a relative of mines property if i didnt happen to be there the snake woulwd have got the shovel.

I have a theory. I think it's quite probable that all, or at least most eggs that are laid in areas, of bad choices, such as water bowls, and scattered outside the nest box, etc, are bad to begin with. I think the snakes have a sense of them being bad, and so they don't bother laying them in a good site. Just a strong hunch, from over the years, but I agree it's worth trying to hatch them. I'd love to hear if anyone ever hatched any from bad choice sites.
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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 a theory. I think it's quite probable that all, or at least most eggs that are laid in areas, of bad choices, such as water bowls, and scattered outside the nest box, etc, are bad to begin with. I think the snakes have a sense of them being bad, and so they don't bother laying them in a good site. Just a strong hunch, from over the years, but I agree it's worth trying to hatch them. I'd love to hear if anyone ever hatched any from bad choice sites.
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This is why I asked if he knew it was gravid or not.
He just "rescued" this snake......if no nest box was provided then the snake chose the most humid spot.....the water bowl.

That theory is legitimate but ivehad ratsnake, corn snake and kingsnake eggs hatch that were scattered about the enclosure. This was back when I filled a shoebox tub with damp moss.....since I adjusted my nesting provisions I have seen bad eggs laid all over the place and good ones in the nest....all from a single female that passed a few good ones then some bad ones a few days later.....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Good info John! I have also seen many duds layed in weird places, then the good ones in next boxes. Maybe I've been lucky, but I haven't had any lay in water that I can remember. I did have a turtle lay in water, many years ago. That egg didn't hatch.
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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