Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A pet store told me not to
Thanks
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Corn Snakes Rule
Blake M.
stoneageh.tripod.com/
stoneage107@juno.com

Sometimes a snake will pip, stick it's nose out but stay in the shell for a day or two until the yolk sack is completely absorbed. I have one which I think was scared out too early last year. He made it most of the way out and died (yolk sac still attached), but it's also possible he was defective in some way (he died, one egg never hatched and the other 23 from that clutch turned out fine). I've heard that chickens too will die if you try to speed up the birthing process by helping too much.
It's possible some snakes may survive the process of being forced out of their shell, but why not just be patient? They will come out when they're ready.
Corinne
dragonfly@w-link.net

You can cause the snake to emerge too soon, and if its egg yolk is still attached, it can get hung up on something and literal eviscerate the hatchling corn in the process. Corns only leave their eggs too early when something threatens them so much that they feel pressured out (like a predator digging through the nest). On the other end of the spectrum, corns that cannot get themselves out of the egg by themselves for whatever reason are usually not going to thrive if you help them out.

So, as hard as it is, I try never to pester the eggs too much, or to try to help them out on my schedule. They either hatch or they don't, and they'll do it on their own time frame.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742