Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi i have got a batch of eggs 3 of them seem to be ok but about 4 or 5 have shrivelled up this is the secound year that my yellow rat snake has laid them she shares a tank with an oketee corn snake not quite sure what to do with babies if they hatch any help would be apreciated thank you

Don't turn the eggs - keep them in the same position when you lift them out and put them into a hatching medium: Vermiculite (a soil lightener) is what I use. Use one part of water with two parts of vermiculite, ie: Two cups of vermiculite with one cup of water. Stir the mix thoroughly until evenly moist. Next place the eggs (keeping them in the same position that they were laid- DON'T turn them) halfway into the vermiculite. Seal the container that they're in, in order to keep them moist. (leaving some airspace of course). Keep at 82 degrees for about 45-55 days. After 45-50 days, put small holes into the container so that the babies can breathe prior to hatching.
I've had 100% success doing it this way for many years. . .
You can get vermiculite at most gardening stores or some Wal-marts also have it. GOOD LUCK - and hurry, the eggs will dry in less than a day!

Zee

Just how do you keep the eggs warm? UTH? Lights?

I set the AC (inside my house) at 82 degrees and then double-check with another thermometer. I can do this, since I have a wife (from SE. GA) that hates being cold and I've survived IRAQ & KUWAIT in the summer, where temps are close to 100 at night and close to 120 during the day!!! To myself and my wife 82 degrees inside my house feels still comfortable to us.
For the rest of the year, I also have a "Snake room" with an AC/heater that allows temps to be controlled to whatever I want while the rest of the house could be cooler or hotter.
I am very picky/cautious about my eggs and therefore chose to keep them (and all gravid females) in the house so I can monitor temps more closely. Lucky for me, I have a wife that doesn't mind, LOL! All of my breeders are currently INSIDE my house. . .

Zee

Zee

to use my house furnace. I'll cook to death at 82 degrees beacuse I live in Wisconsin and the heat would melt me! LOL
Any other ideas for me? I may have a pregnant corn here and I have NO CLUE how to take care of the eggs if she in fact is carrying any eggs! No, I had no intentions of breeding her...it's a long story...
Thanks in advance!
Dove