The Egg Watch Continues . . .

Just noticed that a couple of the eggs from Lilly's first clutch began to have that look, like the quiet before the storm! Several are contracting, almost as if they are inhaling, like right before they hatch!

Is this wishful thinking? Or is it like that old saying, "A watched pot NEVER Berls!" (Brooklyn accent inserted, of course, because the first 3,000 times I heard that saying was from my aunts and uncles on my father's side who are all from the heart of Crown Heights!!)

I know it's not 60 days yet (the 21st will make 2 months exactly) but I figured I would start an Egg Watch. I'm not superstitious (knock wood!) so I don't think I'm jinxing them.

In any event, this is what they looked like this morning:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/pic...ictureid=16504

That one on the end does look a little moldy but I've heard that hatchlings can come out of shells that are fungus-covered, so I really don't wanna chuck a potentially good baby!!

Note: Apologies for the quality of the picture. The iPhone camera takes pretty good pix but getting them here while on my Surface Pro 2 has been somewhat of a task and since I am NOT the SHARPEST tool in the shed, I decided I'd be better off just linking to one of my albums, hence the quality. I WILL figure out how to post them here from whatever device I am using ONE OF THESE DAYS, as contrary to popular belief, it REALLY doesn't take me an HOUR AND A HALF to watch 60 Minutes and I DIDN'T STARE at an orange juice box for 20 minutes because it said, "CONCENTRATE!" (I hate it when rumors start traveling!!!)

I actually figured out how to post a close up of the same picture by taking a screen shot with my iPhone and emailing it to myself and then saving it in a smaller size. In any case, here it is:

Neat! They definitely look like they're in the home stretch.

Originally Posted by hypnoctopus

Neat! They definitely look like they're in the home stretch.

Ya THINK? Or am I just more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a rocking-chair factory? THAT'S probably it! That and the fact that Lilly's only successfully incubated clutch from last year started to see pips at 45 days!

I know I shouldn't keep checking them twice a day (my wife is kinda worried because my recent conversations often tend to drift towards "Do ya think that white fuzzy looking stuff will be bad for a hatchling?" and "Does that egg on the end LOOK good to you?" For the first time in years she has asked me if I am dumber than a bag of hammers or has the cheese slipped off of my cracker?)

I really don't know the answer and would like to formally extend an apology to all I might be subjecting to this issue which has risen soley because I am acting like a mosquito in a mannequin factory!!! SORRY!!

I think you better be getting the cigars ready. Just don't pace a hole in the floor while you are waiting, Axis!

My only hatching experience is with chicks and that's only a 21 day wait. I'm a worrier and can't leave them alone. But its so exciting waiting for the babies. I can't wait to see pics!

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Originally Posted by DollysMom

I think you better be getting the cigars ready. Just don't pace a hole in the floor while you are waiting, Axis!

Cigars are ready Dollysmom! Just hope that they're OK, because I AM becoming a nervous wreck!! (My wife caught me trying to put my m&m's in alphabetical order this morning!!! Yikes!! Thought it was better than burning a hole in he carpet!!).

You all will be the FIRST to know if and when the little pips pop through!!!

Originally Posted by JennyJ

My only hatching experience is with chicks and that's only a 21 day wait. I'm a worrier and can't leave them alone. But its so exciting waiting for the babies. I can't wait to see pics!

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Chicks are GREAT!! When I was a kid I spent 4 months on a farm with family in Italy and the newly hatched chicks were some of the BEST parts of the memories!! But one time I remember one missing as I was holding a bunch in my arms (I LOVED to hold the little buggers and feed them from my hands!). When I got up from where I was sitting, I noticed the furry-looking chick UNDER the hay I was sitting on!! I had accidentally CRUSHED one of my favorite chicks to death! I was horrified!! To make matters worse, the next day when I went to play with the chicks again, for some reason, the mother hen (a big, brown & red, squawking bird with big red flaps of meat hanging from the sides of her beak!) came over to me and started pecking me! For NO apparent reason!! So what did I do at the tender age of five? I didn't want to call my mom or my aunt or cousin, because I didn't want them to think I was a wuss!! So what else could I do? I peed on it!! That's right. Just cornered her, dropped my little shorts and peed RIGHT ON her!! I know some of you might think that's cruel, but you know what? I didn't hit her with a broom, didn't kick her, didn't do any of the mean things I'd seen done to chickens including decapitating it for dinner!! And she NEVER bothered me again, for the remainder of my time there!!! (I still feel horrible about sitting on one of her chicks, but it WAS an accident!!).

Another reason I couldn't have chickens (even if I did have the room!) is because I LOVE to eat them! Kinda hard for me to even give DEAD rodents to my snakes, come to think of it!!

But I guess 21 days is a walk in the park compared to the long, and mostly unknown time period it takes to wait for cornsnake hatchlings!!

Thanx for waiting with me!!!

Hahahaha! Peeing on the chicken could have gone bad! I've been attacked by roasters a few times. They can be nasty. I've lost some baby chicks. It happens. I'd love to hatch some baby snakes but that would be awhile. I'm ready for more snakes.

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Originally Posted by JennyJ

Hahahaha! Peeing on the chicken could have gone bad! I've been attacked by roasters a few times. They can be nasty. I've lost some baby chicks. It happens. I'd love to hatch some baby snakes but that would be awhile. I'm ready for more snakes.

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I DO remember being attacked by roosters!! One in particular was REAL nasty! No way I coulda peed on HIM! He was too fast & mean!!! And I was just a little tyke at the time!! (This conversation does bring me back!)

But to get back to the topic, if you have or raise multiple snakes of the opposite sex, and ensure that the female fits the criteria for breeding (the three 3's), then just pair them up at the appropriate time, and monitor your female for when she's ready to lay eggs and also be prepared to have a backup plan should something go south, so a reptile vet is a MUST, in my book anyway! Also become as informed as possible on mating, breeding, egg production and care, etc. It's not rocket appliance! Er, uh . . .I mean SCIENCE!! (Sorry, I was dealing one of the voices in my head!)

But you get the picture!!!