Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Don't have much details but do have a couple of questions:

One of my daughters classmates parents called me this morning. They are snake sitting a corn snake "Steve". Well to their surprise Stave apparently laid eggs this morning. A dozen or so. Surprise Steve is not a boy. Have no incubation setup nor knowledge of what to do with it. Have no knowledge whether Steve was hibernated or not (thought not as it's a family pet). Or if Steve was allowed to hang with another boy.

Do Corns lay eggs without hibernation?
Will corns lay eggs without male contact?

I told them since the corn was apparently tending to the eggs, leave her alone with them.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. I myself don't know about egg layers, I have Brazilian Rainbow Boas, 18 live born this season so far.
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife
0.2 kids
4.12 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.1 Ball python
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Hypo (possible super)

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Do Corns lay eggs without hibernation?
- Yep.

Will corns lay eggs without male contact?
- Yes, but they will be infertile.

I told them since the corn was apparently tending to the eggs, leave her alone with them.
- Female Corns don't have any maternal instincts. If left to their own devices, they stay near the eggs for a few days because they're too tired to move. She could start moving about and shifting the eggs, which may kill any developing embryos.

You could try incubating the eggs, but unless the mother has mated sometime in the last few months, then they're going to be infertile. You'll need to take them away from the mother (she'll shove and resist, may even hiss, but this is just because she doesn't like being disturbed) and incubate them separately.

If you do a search around here, you'll find some info on incubation.

Also, it'd be a good idea to check whether there's a local market for any hatchlings, otherwise your friends could end up with several more hungry mouths to feed on a permanent basis!

Good luck.

np
-----
Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife
0.2 kids
4.12 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.1 Ball python
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Hypo (possible super)

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats