Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
Around 5 years ago we bought a breeding pair of mexican milksnakes from our local petshop. These milksnakes had apparently bred well in the past and produced some lovely babies. Well they have bred every year for the past 5 years but every year the babies have died. For the first 4 years we attempted to take the eggs down to the petshop to be incubated but every year they died. This year we kept them at home in a spare cage we had but the temperature kept dropping and rising. The babies died. We have now bought an incubator from the internet but too late to put the eggs in and we dont think the milksnakes will breed again this year. Next year if we put them in the incubator straight away do you think they wil hatch or do you think that the petshop was lying and the milksnakes are breeding but laying infertile eggs??
Any info would be helpful.
katie
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thanks in advance

Can you clarify a few things please:

1. When you say "the babies died" do you mean the eggs never hatched?

2. Did the eggs have white or white-ish shells with noticeable blood vessels (when held up to a light), or were the shells rather yellowish, very firm with no blood vessels?

3. If you mean the eggs didn't hatch, did you cut one open to see what was inside?

Well the eggs didnt hatch and im not sure about the blood vessels but the eggs were white but within a few weeks they began to get yellow spots, and no I didnt cut one open to see what was inside.

Do you have any info.
please help me

katie
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
thanks in advance

Sounds like the eggs are not fertile. Did you brumate the snakes. I believe that these snake require a cooling period for successful egg and sperm production. You didn't mention whether you had cooled them. If not, this might be the reason the eggs are not fertile.

No i did not brumate them, is this intierly neccesary??
katie
xxxxxxxxx
thanks in advance

i have never bred mexican milk snakes. i have bred several other temperate colubrids. most do require a cooling period to breed successfully. about 3 months at 50-55 degrees.

Yes. In order to reasonably expect fertile eggs from mexican milks, an period of cooling is required. What a shame that you went so long w/o this knowledge. I recommend that you consult Applegate Reptiles web site (his milk snake publication is available at his site, and there are good articles as well).

Also, I recommend that you always candle any eggs that are produced. It's quite easy to determine a fertile egg from a non-fertile one.

Fertile eggs are very resilient. I haven't produced many snakes, but all fertile eggs (about 50 or so) that have been produced by snakes under my care have hatched out.

Hi when you say candle the eggs, do you actually been get a candle and hold it near the eggs to check??
katie
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
thanks in advance

UMMM.... NO.... cooking the egg is bad,

Use a small flashlight for best results. In a room with lights off hold the flashlight against the egg and examine the egg. You are looking for blood vessels in the interior. Any blood vessels indicate that the eggs is viable. If the interior is a yellowish color with no evidence of vessels... then infertile

It is necessary to cool them first. 8-10 weeks is usually plenty of brumation time. Healthy, fertile eggs can handle a few mild temp or humidity fluctuations without problems. Now that you have an incubator, you have a great advantage over trusting your precious eggs to someone else. As an annulata fan I'd say keep trying and good luck.
All the best,
Perry