Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this question has been asked before (by me actually), but I don't remember the answer and I can't find it on here.
So anyways... My cornsnake has just begun laying eggs and has laid about 10 so far. How long should I wait until she is done? And for incubating, I cannot find vermiculate ANYWHERE! What else could I use and how do I go about incubating. The last clutch she laid didn't turn out at all so I'm really really hoping I get at least a few successful eggs with this one. So please help me. Thanks so much

I've found vermiculite in the garden center at target. I would suggest that you will have to wait at least 12 hours before she might be fully done. If you can't find any vermiculite try perlite (also the garden center) or long fibered sphagnum moss. Soak it in water, then squeeze all excess water out of it. Lay the eggs on the moss, put more on top. Keep it in a container that will hold the humidity, keep it at 80 - 84 degrees, wait 60 days, and voila snakies.

>>I know this question has been asked before (by me actually), but I don't remember the answer and I can't find it on here.
>>So anyways... My cornsnake has just begun laying eggs and has laid about 10 so far. How long should I wait until she is done? And for incubating, I cannot find vermiculate ANYWHERE! What else could I use and how do I go about incubating. The last clutch she laid didn't turn out at all so I'm really really hoping I get at least a few successful eggs with this one. So please help me. Thanks so much
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~Sasheena

Thanks for the reply.. She began laying eggs this morning around 11:30 so would it be bad to wait until tomorow to take the eggs out? Also, the eggs are all stacked up on top of eachother. Is this bad? How can I move them. Some of the eggs are laying sideways or flip up-side-down after she lays them. What should I do with these eggs? Are they done for or should I leave them sideways/flipped? Thanks a lot

The eggs should clump together so just carefully pick them up and move them to your incubation medium. This is my first year with corn eggs as well and Im using spagnum moss. Ive tried perlite before with other eggs and had no luck. So far the moss is working well. Oh, the eggs that are sideways should be ok, just leave them like they are. Good luck.

EP
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Occupants not paying rent:
16 eggs incubating
7 balls
2.2 corns(candy cane, creamsicle, ghost, normal)
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2 fish
1 rat
1 mouse
5 cats

There's no way I can get vermiculite, perlite, or spagnum moss until tomorrow morning. Will this be too late to separate the eggs or will they be all dried out by them? Should I just use potting soil as a substitute until then? Thanks

The eggs are all stacked on top of eachother and they're stuck to eachother. I'm gonna try to move them to some potting soil but I can't get them apart. What do I do?!!! A lot of the eggs already look yellowish in some spots so I think they might already be infertile. Hope all goes well. Please reply soon cuz I don't know what to do! thanks

Second: The eggs should remain in a clump. Do Not Try to Separate Them.

Barely moist potting soil should be fine. Put the soil in a container large enough for the whole clump with room to spare. Hollow out the center a bit, and then pick up the entire clump, leaving the entire clump in the same exact position as when you took it from the snake. Try not to turn the clump. Place it in the depression you made, and push the soil towards the egg until it is 1/2 covered for the moment.

Tomorrow as soon as you can get sphagnum, perlite, or vermiculite, and set up the incubation container. If you use vermiculite get it just damp enough so that when you squeeze some in your fist NO water leaks out, but whne you open your hand the vermiculite retains the shape of your closed fist. Follow the same procedure as mentioned above for the soil. The eggs might be a bit dirty from your soil, but that's okay, they don't mind a little smudge of dirt here and there.

They should be fine but I wouldn't let it go more than 24 hours in the soil if you can help it.
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~Sasheena

Stop panicking. The eggs should be kept moist. If it is not humid where they are can you make it so (drop a moist piece of paper towel over them and Mom). The eggs will be stuck together. Leave them like that. Get your incubator ready before moving them. Wait till tomorrow, if you need to rather than move them twice. (We found our current clutch of eggs after a three day camping weekend. I'm fairly sure they were laid Friday night. The first one hatched today, he seems to be fine). When you do move them it is important not to turn the eggs. (It is OK to cut the string like membrane which connects eggs, but it is probably better not to try to separate clumps that have stuck together). Just bury them as a clump in moist vermiculite (or moss, or perlite). Keep them warm and moist. Wait.
Look at Mom. She probably looks tired and thin. Offer her a small meal as soon as you can (a fuzzy or two, or even a few pinkies). She will go into shed within a day or two. Afterwards she will be very hungry (you might want to keep the meal on the smallish side for a time or two (one mouse not two or three), and increase the frequency to help her recover.
Good Luck
Corinne
dragonfly@w-link.net

Thanks a lot for the help. I alread had separated the eggs using dental floss before I got you message though. I made sure not to flip them though. Now I get some perlite and I'm going to put it in an ice cream bucket then put a heat pad under it. Will this work good enough for heating them or do I need a lamp also? And are the eggs that are a little brownish in some spots unfertile or what? Thanks again for the help.

You need to keep the eggs between 78 and 84 degrees. Try to find a part ofthe house that keeps this temperature WITHOUT the use of any sort of lamp or heating pads, as these can warm the eggs up too much and dry them out. If you find the place that does this job, put them there, close them up, check them every other week, and let them do their job.

ALSO and this is VERY IMPORTANT... read the other messages in this forum. The questions you are asking are being asked on this forum and are already answered. It's easier if you read the responses and come up with some specific unanswered questions to ask. That makes it easier for everyone

>>Thanks a lot for the help. I alread had separated the eggs using dental floss before I got you message though. I made sure not to flip them though. Now I get some perlite and I'm going to put it in an ice cream bucket then put a heat pad under it. Will this work good enough for heating them or do I need a lamp also? And are the eggs that are a little brownish in some spots unfertile or what? Thanks again for the help.
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~Sasheena