Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well after being worried about our new aquisition not eating (our first snake ),and deciding she wasn't gravid, I came down this morning to see no sign of her. I had put a nesting box in the tank just in case, and when I looked in it (I had put it inside a hide box) there was still no sign of her. Panic set in then and I was trying to figure out how she'd managed to escape when I saw a coil protruding from underneath the box of nesting material, and upon lifting it, found her underneath with (so far) one egg!!!!!!!!! I put it back immediately and left her to it, but she's laid the egg just in some newspaper which is dry and at the cool end of the tank. I have read and read about snakes, but I wasn't planning on them breeding until we had had them for more than 5 days lol!!
There is no substitute for experience I know, but any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

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Vicks and Bubbs

Well I'm a lot of a newbie too....

It seems to me that you might watch over and remove the eggs one by one so they won't dry out. Place them in the nesting box if you want to hold them somewhere damp, or if you have an incubation box ready, put them there. I found with my three girls who laid eggs, that once they started laying eggs, they were pretty much oblivious to my presence. ONE, who I wasn't even sure was gravid, had some substrate in her mouth, so I took her and her egg laying box out, opened the lid, and with her half lying in the box, and on the lid, I tried to gently remove the material from her mouth. A few moments later I noticed an egg being laid! I felt AWFUL when I realized I'd been bothering her while she was trying to lay her eggs! I gently placed her upper body on the lid of the egg laying container, on my computer desk, and then let her do her thing. She was on my desk for more than 5 hours laying 21 eggs. I found that if I didn't touch her other coils, I could remove the egg without a problem... and if i did, she would squeeze inward. To get her to not squish the egg, I would gently stroke the outside of her coils, and she would move away from the egg.

I'm pretty sure if you just leave her there for three or four hours she'll finish her business, and you should be able to remove all the eggs in a big clump. The first ones laid might be a bit dehydrated, but not fatally so.

Good luck, and keep us posted!
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~Sasheena

Well we have phoned one or two people for advice and been told to leave her be until she has finished,and then put the eggs in an incubator. We have covered her and the eggs with damp kitchen paper, and are checking and misting it periodically. She doesn't seem to be aware of us looking in at all. There are about 10 eggs so far as I can see, and she's been at it since 8am. It's now 3.40pm and it looks as though there may be another 2 or 3 to come from the shape of her, and to think we didn't notice!!!

Does anyone have any idea what the offspring (assuming the eggs hatch) will look like? She is an albino corn snake and he is a grey rat snake.

This is very EGGciting!!!! (sorry)
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Vicks and Bubbs

>>
>>Does anyone have any idea what the offspring (assuming the eggs hatch) will look like? She is an albino corn snake and he is a grey rat snake.
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I am not sure but I beleive the offspring will probably look like rather dull normals but if they are bred back together about 1 in 4 should be amel which in this case (the grey rat) would make them frosted creamsicles. I think that is what they are calling amel guttata/spiloides mixes.
Someone correct me if I am wrong
Jimmy