Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a WC Loma Alta female that laid about 12 eggs a couple of days ago. I am putting together a new incubator for this year and since it was not ready yet and the temp in her hide box was good, I left them with her. They were there yesterday when I checked on them but when I went to get them today there were only 2 eggs and the female had a bulge where a recently eaten meal would be. I don't think they were fertile but I don't remember ever hearing of this before.
Anyone had this happen?
Later
Rick

Interesting, although unfortunate, observation Rick. I had a Mexican Hognose do this last year, but never an alterna. I wonder what the nutritional difference in fertile vs non-fertile eggs. I also wonder if they can tell by smell if they are fertile or not. It seems that because of the toll it takes on a wild snake, it would make since for them to consume infertile eggs. Nature does not like to waste energy. Just a thought.

Females seem to be able to distinguish fertile from infertile eggs. I've had females of various species exclude infertile eggs from the main body of an otherwise fertile clutch. Reproduction is an energetically demanding ordeal for females, and it seems advantageous to recoup at least some of this investment.

I caught a thayeri last year gobbling up her eggs... so I would say yes.
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Herp Conservation Unlimited

If people really learn from their mistakes, I should be like the smartest guy in the world

Look at Jeffrey Dahmer he ate kids, some of them had the intelligence level as if they may have been infertile. So why not snakes too lol. Ok i know in poor taste but hell its hard to live in my world. I have had milk snakes do it 2x times on me know, i try to get the eggs out as fast as they are hitting the ground, most of the eggs i had eaten where fertile and the infertile were left in the box. I was pissed to say the least.

I had this happen several years ago with a nelsoni. It was a female het bred to an albino back when the prices were still pretty high. I wasn't happy. As most who breed snakes successfully know females can have some strong feeding responses during breeding season. For this reason I try to remove eggs as soon after they are laid.

I've had it happen with both Western Hognose and Mexican-I'm sure reptile eggs are a regular part of hognose diets. Last year I lost half a clutch to a mother Desert phase Cal king-they were fertile, too....I try to get them out as soon as I find them.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Boas, Pythons, Colubrids, Tortoises and Turtles

I had a female gray banded king eat her eggs this season.

over the YEARS...many....i've had several WC blairi crap reptile type eggshells,......in fact one was witnessed by lee claude box.....one of the pioneers......

i also seem to remember some dude in AZ....who delibrately fed cal king eggs to his blairi......i cant think of his name right now........maybe later....

I had a wild caught alterna morph female from the Bend that regurgitated a snake egg that was the size of an alterna egg the day I caught her. --Henry W