Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We bought a 1 1/2 old female western hognose from the September Anaheim NARBC show. She had been doing well up until a couple weeks ago. At that time she quit eating and was constantly on the move in her cage. I mean, it made me tired just looking at her! Well, this morning we woke up to 4 hognose eggs. Actually, I don't think she's finished laying . . . she seems to still have a large mass near her vent. Needless to say, we are in complete shock. Truly had no idea she was gravid (which gives you an idea of what novices we are!).

So my question is: Can we still attempt to incubate these eggs? It was always our impression that the eggs needed to be removed immediately. Her eggs have probably been in her cage at least 6 hours and, as I said, it doesn't look like she's done. Cage temp averages around 81 during the day. It was 78 when we got up this morning.

We have never dealt with incubating eggs before so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Congrats on the eggs.

Wait till she has completely finished, then pull her out and run your fingers along the belly to make sure their aren't any little bumps remaining.

The eggs should be fine in the cage as long as they are away from the heat source until you can make up an incubator. Many hog breeders shelf incubate during the spring/summer without worring about the temps too much. However since it is fall and average house temps remain low, you may be a bit concerned about not using an incubatur.

Feel free to email or call if you would like more detailed information.

Rich Macias
BLOODLINES
snakebloodlines@aol.com