Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey All this is my first post and my first attempt at breeding Corn snakes The mother and father are both snow corns. So far she has laid 10 eggs but I can still see maybe 3 more inside her. i took the 10 eggs out and put them in my home made incubator. I am sorry if my post jumps around im just excited.

My incubator is set up in a styrafoam fish box filled maybe 6 inches, a tupperware container is resting on a brick which is just barely out of the water,I am using the coconut fiber as the substrate (I did not expect her to have them today i was going to set up the incubator tomorrow but I read this stuff is ok) theres a fish tank heater set to 83 degrees.

Ok my questions are how much longer before she lays the remaining eggs? i have not touched her so i do not know if there are any eggs underneath her if there are will they be ok? I did not put the box in there for her to lay the eggs in and she had them in her cage should I keep the heat lamp off so she can lay the rest in the dark?

Ok I think thats all the questions i have but please any information you experienced breeders can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

your setup sounds fine just make sure the temps don't fluctuate too much. she should lay the rest of the eggs in the next few hours but to be same you might want to leave rher alone till morning? or check at around midnight and disturb her as little as possible. any eggs underneath her will be fine. Remeber not to move them in position as you ransfer to the incubator so you don't drown the embryos.

"I did not put the box in there for her to lay the eggs in and she had them in her cage should I keep the heat lamp off so she can lay the rest in the dark?"

do you mean that she has no nest box? if she doesn't then you should really give her one to lay the rest of her eggs in so that they do not dry out. the heat lamp can stay on as long as you do that.

Good luck with the eggs! i hope all turn out healthy
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~~~Amy~~~

Yes thats what i ment i do not have a nest box, nor do i have the tupperware container to make one. Her bedding is the coconut fiber would that be ok for her to lay the rest of the eggs on? should i cover the tank with a towel so my movements or room lights dont upset her?

Also 5 of the eggs stuck together, now I thought i read that its ok if their together and to just leave them alone and not pull them apart, is it ok that they are stuck together or should i try to seperate them, I would rather not try it, my hands are shaky already, but will if its best for the eggs.

If you aren't going to put a moist hide box in, I would heavily mist the substrate and yes I would cover the cage so it is dark for her.

As far as the eggs that are stuck together. Leave them alone. Only when you have to separate them (like if they wont fit in the incubator) should you attempt to do so.
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alstiver@hotmail.com

1.0 '01 hypo snow
0.1 '02 ghost (pastel)
1.1 '02 bloodred

Hi, Nick:

Just leave them stuck together, they'll be okay. Your incubator sounds as if it will work well. My personal choice is to incubate at about 80 deg. rather than 83. I've heard that too-high temps can cause babies to become "kinked". I've also heard that lower temps produce more robust babies, but don't know whether that's true or not.

Thanks for everyones help so far. As for the temps i read 82-84 was good temps so i figuered 83 was a happy medium Also my incubator is on the bare wood floor of my room so i didnt want to make it too cool but if its recomended by the majority of breeder's to lower my temps then i will definately do so. I will mist the cage and cover it as soon as I am done typing this and will search for the remainder of the eggs tomorrow morning before work, Thanks for replying and if you guys (girls) have any other helpful tips and tricks please share em