Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just had a Hypo lay 7 eggs and 3 are bad. I was wondering what do you guys if you were going to double clucth a snake. I want to try a different male to see how she does. Thanks for the input.

Tom

This is my opinion, I am far from an expert but here goes. Some people would say do not double clutch a snake that threw some bad eggs. I myself feel a snake depositing slugs is more stressful than delivering eggs simply because [knock on wood here] when my snakes drop eggs they all come out that day. Slugs can remain in the snake longer and take more time...sometimes several days before they all come out. So, with that said are you 100% certain all the eggs/slugs are out of the snake? Bodyweight is also a factor. If the female is ravenously feeding she may hope to lay a second clutch. You actually may get a second clutch wether you try for it or not.........which is why I usually do try for second one. How heavy was the snake before she laid clutch #1? Could it have been she did nto have enough fat reserves to achieve a full healthy clutch? Are the snakes young, meaning less than 3 years old? Were they cooled for 3 months? More or less??? These are important questions you should be thinking about. If the male is over 2 years old, and was cooled for a good long while, and the female had good bodyweight for clutch one and has decent weight now....I would use the same male. If your other male is older or was cooled longer I would try him. The only other factor is genetics, and striving to produce specific morphs but since I typed quite a lot here let's see what you say about my comments. One last thought is are you 100% certain the eggs you have are fertile? Did you candle them? I thought I had a good clutch last year, the eggs looked perfect...shiny and nice n white, in the end they were duds. Tom Stevens

This is my opinion, I am far from an expert but here goes. Some people would say do not double clutch a snake that threw some bad eggs. I myself feel a snake depositing slugs is more stressful than delivering eggs simply because [knock on wood here] when my snakes drop eggs they all come out that day. Slugs can remain in the snake longer and take more time...sometimes several days before they all come out. So, with that said are you 100% certain all the eggs/slugs are out of the snake?

Yes she laid 7 eggs

Bodyweight is also a factor. If the female is ravenously feeding she may hope to lay a second clutch. You actually may get a second clutch wether you try for it or not.........which is why I usually do try for second one. How heavy was the snake before she laid clutch #1?

718 grams She is 584 grams today, plus she has eating 4 hoppers in the last 2 days.

Could it have been she did nto have enough fat reserves to achieve a full healthy clutch? Are the snakes young, meaning less than 3 years old? Were they cooled for 3 months? More or less???
They were born 8/02 and they were cooled from 11/21 - 2/20

These are important questions you should be thinking about. If the male is over 2 years old, and was cooled for a good long while, and the female had good bodyweight for clutch one and has decent weight now....I would use the same male. If your other male is older or was cooled longer I would try him. The only other factor is genetics, and striving to produce specific morphs but since I typed quite a lot here let's see what you say about my comments. One last thought is are you 100% certain the eggs you have are fertile? Did you candle them?

Well I can't say for sure I candled them just now but no blood vessels are visible. When should I see blood vessels?? I trew out 3 of them they smelled really bad and had the feeling of jelly candy. The other 4 well 2 look good and the other 2 are questionable, will tell with more time. The female is eating really good so in 2 weeks I will try again. I used the same male with another female and she looks huge. I know that does not mean anything. It could have been that she was young and also she was the 1st one out of 5 to be the first one to lay. I have 2 that are blue right now and 2 that are still eating up a storm.

I thought I had a good clutch last year, the eggs looked perfect...shiny and nice n white, in the end they were duds. Tom Stevens

Sorry for such a long post. And thanks for your comments. Will keep you posted as to when the other lay their eggs.

Tom Sierra