Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my smaller females laid her second clutch of eggs today.
Although three of them look a bit questionable, this second clutch was much better than the first.

On May 3, this three year old female laid 20 infertile eggs and 9 fertile eggs. Twenty-nine total. Wow.

Today, she laid 24 fertile eggs, although three are not completely shelled. I was very happy.

One thing I find interesting is last year she laid 16 infertile eggs without ever being with a male. I didn't attempt to breed her because I was concentrating on getting her "big". This is the first time I've had a snake lay eggs without ever being with a male (I've raised her from a baby).

Three year old female, parents legally collected from New Mexico. She is 29 1/2 inches long and now weighs (after her egg laying) only 360 grams. She was close to 600 grams before this morning.

Because I had a few females snack on a few of their own eggs, I was watching this one carefully. Her last egg was laid after this photo. On two occasions I've checked the nest box only to see a female swallowing one of her eggs. Funny snakes.

This female shed her skin 6 days prior to laying both clutches of eggs.

This egg was exposed to the air for only a few seconds when the photo was taken. A few minutes later, the blood vessels were no longer visible as the shell dried.

Thanks for sharing those pics. I have 2 females that I believe may be gravid and are opaque. They will be my first attempt at breeding snakes. I can’t tell if they are gravid though and I don’t know how big the eggs are. Do you happen to have a pic of eggs with something like a quarter in the pic so that I can compare size? Also, when did you put the female in the egg laying box, right after it shed? Then you just incubate them in that container without moving the eggs? Is that peat moss? Sorry, I’m just curious.
Thanks.
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James
My Web Page

Hi James,

I move the eggs into a small container with slightly moist Perlite. I've also incubated the eggs in the laying medium, which is a mixture of peat moss and potting soil. I've had great results with hatching the eggs this way also. The mix is moist enough to clump together if you squeezed it in your hand tightly. It is not wet, however.

I place the nest box (plastic container with hole in the top) in the cage the day after the female sheds. I've had females lay their eggs as little as three days after a shed and as long as 9 days. Five or 6 days after the shed seems to be the average for my hogs.

Even if your females are not gravid, they will enjoy digging around in the dirt. Good luck!

Thanks! Okay, now I have a better idea. My biggest female is in the middle of shedding right now! I just made her a egg laying box. Thanks again and good luck with your snakes!
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James
My Web Page

Hey Casey! I find Hogs often lay poorly calcified eggs.
I've been breeding them for maybe 15 years, and I have more problems with
hog eggs than any other colubrid.
The strange thing is often eggs that look like slugs are in fact fertile.
The problem is keeping them from falling apart before the neonate emerges.

I had a female give me 47 eggs in one month last year. (two clutches)
The season before, she ovulated in brumation, and ended up laying eggs sporatically
all summer long. Most were no good.

I've started using Repcal on all hog meals post brumation. I think it helps with calcification
but I wouldn't swear by it. This year once again, I got a clutch of less then fully calcified
eggs. All were fertile, but all will not hatch. Some are half covered with mould, but still the embryo
lives... It's rather strange... Maybe these snakes need UV.... Sounds goofy, but something is going on when eggs are fertile but
aren't properly shelled.

That's a lot of eggs! You're obviously doing something right!

I've had the same thoughts about the UV exposure. I think that some calcium supplementation may be helpful but I would be very careful about over doing it.

I used calcium gluconate to as a supplement for a group of female pythons back in the early 90's. I injected a small amount into the food source (thawed rats) for a period of four months. I asked a well know vet if there could be any side effects. He told me that the calcium glucnate was water soluable and the snakes would pass what they didn't need. It was "100% safe".

After a few months, some snakes went into a shedding cycle. Their shed skins were very thick and smelly. A few weeks later, the snakes would shed again. By this time, they had refused food. Then, suddenly, one by one, the snakes that had the calcium supplementation began dying. Only the snakes that were given this supplement died. Once symptoms began appearing, I stopped the treatment and phoned the vet. He attempted to reassure me that it was not the calcium. Half a dozen dead pythons later, I had necropsies performed on two of the dead pythons. Both had heavy mineral deposits in the organs.

With hognose, I do believe a light calcium supplement and UV exposure could be beneficial although I think a few uncalcified eggs out of a large clutch is quite acceptable. That's still a small percentage of non-viable although sometimes fertile eggs. Western hognose snakes include other reptiles eggs as part of their diet and this accompanied with some early morning/late afternoon sun exposure could help a reproducing female shell up those eggs. Just my thoughts.

By the way, I have not used UV light, sun exposure, or calcium with my hognose.

Casey, how about the difference beteween feeding adult mice and pinkie rats. Do you think the calcium difference from the ossified bones of the adult mice would provide significantly more calcium than pinkie rats? I used to feed almost exclusively pinkie rats, but now I wonder about that practicce, especially with gravid females. Greg

Hi Greg,

I rarely use pink rats unless a snake refuses adult mice. I believe an adult mouse is a better source of calcium than a pink rat. The young rats may be a good source for fattening up a snake but reproductive females need calcium, IMHO, as much as the extra fat.