Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all, I went in to check on a few of my eastern garters and found 2 dead babies in the cage with them. I know they have more still in them and am puzzled why there would be only two born and not the rest. Has anyone ever had this happen before? Can I expect the rest to also not make it through the birth? I've never seen anything like this. Any input would be appreciated. Take care, Scott.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr

I don't get it. Two born dead yesterday, now two dead today. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? They seem to be fully developed, just not alive. Thanks, Scott.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr

We dont know what kind of cage,heat ,light etc.

Hi Tom, thanks for replying. I have 4 females in a 40g long. UTH under 1/3 with temps running about 88 degrees on the warm end. Incandescent on 12/12 on same side as UTH (of course). Unfortunately I don't know which of the females it is thats giving birth to the duds so I've separated them last night into seperate boxes to try and figure out which one it is. I also found one more dead one last night right before bed. This is the same setup I've used in previous years without any problems. I can usually easily tell which mother is the one giving birth because of the obvious emptiness of the belly. I can't tell that this year which is why I'm assuming they still have more in them. It's now 10am and no more babies so I'll keep you posted. After this experience I've decided to build a rack and keep all housed individually. I'm thinking it's possible stress from the other females that's causing this, but I don't know. Thank you, Scott Sullivan.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr

I hate to make this suggestion, but it seems very obvious to me....that living babies may have been born, and simply eaten as a nice snack by the other adult snake.
They are cannibalistic. The mother won't eat her own offspring immediately, but there's nothing to stop the other snake from doing so.

there doesn't seem to be any blood like there was a birth. Just single babies occasionally. They are now separated to avoid this. I've made sure that they have been fed well so avoid this happening. I'll see what happens from here. I've kept groups together through birth and never had a problem. Thanks for everyone's thoughts, Scott.
-----
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr