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dud snake egg?

N

natesmommy

New member
We have had our 3 corn snakes for a couple of years. 2 snow corns since 2004, and a texas rat snake since 2005. This morning we noticed what appeared to be an egg in their cage. We have absolutely NO experience breeding and weren't trying to breed. We aren't even sure of the sex of any of the snakes. I went to petco and the "expert" there told me that it sounds like a dud egg due to the coloring. It was a orangish yellow with white raised spots on it. He also said that it wasn't good for the mother snake to be laying "dud" eggs and that there should be more following this one. We aren't quite sure what to do, if there is anything we should do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! TIA!

(I have no idea how to attach a picture or else I would!!)
 
1. i wouldnt be listening to petco idiots
2. i noticed you said their. There are a ton of problems you can have with co-habbing. Such as canibalism, mites, breeding, etc etc....
3. What is the color of the egg?
4. the correct term for a "dud" egg is slug.
5. It is not bad if it is a slug. It may be a bad breeder but it got bred because of the co-hab, or it could have been natural. Some females lay slugs every year because they are just aren't fertile eggs.
6. Get the snake "the comprehensive guide to keeping cornsnakes" by kathy love it will start you with husbandry and such.
7. are there any bumps or large lumps in the female?
8. Concider getting them sexed.
9. how many of these snakes are in the same cage?
10. I dont attach pics, I use photobucket. You make your free account, upload your pic there, and use the image code that is on the full screen of the image which you copy/paste into your post, and the pic automaticly comes up. Here is a link to photobucket
 
Thanks so much for replying. I think I should have stated that we definitely aren't trying to breed the snakes! (and don't want any more!!) My husband just likes snakes and we have ended up with 3 snakes. They are all in the same cage and have been for awhile. It is a decent sized cage with trees and huts and plenty of sand & moss for them to hide in. They seem to get along except for we seperate them when it is time for them to eat. Other than that, no problems. Just yesterday we noticed what appeared to be an egg. He did remove it from the cage and it looked like maybe it had gone bad and had raised white spots on the orangish yellow egg that appeared to be maybe mold? We just aren't sure how it could have gotten moldy because he looks in there every day and it just appeared there yesterday, unless it had somehow been hidden. I don't know. I don't want to get another cage and have 2 cages of snakes, just not sure if this is a bad thing because the guy at petco said that it was bad for the snake. I don't want her to get sick or anything. Thanks again and any advice is greatly appreciated!
 
I would expect there to be more eggs, some female snakes lay dud eggs every year with no ill effects, also I would get them off sand asap, nasty stuff. I dont even use it with my beardies.
 
I would recomend you immediately try to get seperate cages for them.
it sounds to me like a slug.
i know you weren't trying to breed just please do not co-hab for the snakes sake. I would never ever do it unless it was breeding season. and then only for maybe 5 days. They may look like they are getting along just fine, but if they are all cuddled up together they are both trying to get the best hiding spot. They are not being nice or anything. I will look up some threads about co-habbing and post the links later
 
natesmommy -

You said you don't want to breed, but keeping more than one unsexed snake in a tank together is just ASKING for them to breed. Finding a slug is not a HORRIBLE surprise, but finding a female dead due to egg-binding sure is.

This might not be what you want to hear, but it's going to be the first recommendation of any knowledgeable snake keeper.
 
Everything that has been said here is great. Listen to it!

However, if you have any surviving babies, label them as possible hybrids... After all, you did say one of the snakes is a Texas Rat? A different species, entirely, from Corn snakes... Which is worse than normal cohabbing--cohabbing two different species. Please get a couple more tanks and separate them. Use aspen shavings, newspaper, or paper towels for bedding... No pine, no cedar, and NO SAND. Your snakes will thank you (so to speak).
 
Well we have definitely figured out who is who. The orange corn snake is the female and the albino corn snake is the male. They were hiding out in there together and she has laid at least 3-4 more eggs. The male is still in the hut with her. We are going to go get another box for the male and the other snake tonight. Do we need to do anything else? I am so appreciative of this site! How long will it take for the eggs to hatch? We can definitely see at least one egg that looks like the bad egg we already found. Should we remove those eggs or leave them? Sorry for all the questions, but we really want to keep them all safe!! Thanks again.
 
check out the egg production section or google "corn snake egg incubation"

What I do is mix some vermiculite and water...it should be slightly moist, but if you squeeze a clump of it in your hand, no water should come out.

Set the eggs on this, being careful not to turn them. If it helps you can mark the top with a pencil to make sure they don't roll.

Put this all in a tupperware container and put the lid on. Put it somewhere that stays around 80-82 degrees or so (top of the fridge works) and wait. In about 60-65 days they should hatch.
 
just because they are together does not mean that he is the father..
do you have a UTH under the tank? my recipe for an incubator is this:

get a styrofoam cooler like this:
DSC00858-1.jpg


put a UTH heater in the bottom that is hooked to a thermostat. I like to use the flexwatt viv type but you have to wire it yourself. You can use a heat mat from zoomed or something like that if it fits the WHOLE bottom. i use a 10 gallon size heater. (the size of the bottom of a 5 gal tank)

Put 4 water bottles that are full on the heat mat.
DSC00853.jpg


Put a rubbermaid lid cut so it is snug in the cooler on top of the bottles
DSC00855.jpg


put 2 bottles on each side and put in your egg box. You can use a couple different designs for egg boxes, but I use one for better humidity. Put water in the bottom of the container. Put something in there to keep the water away from directly touching the eggs that still lets the humidity to rise up. Put down a bed of sphagnum moss, put the eggs on it, and cover them up with damp moss.
DSC00856.jpg


air seal the top of the tank but dig a small hole in the top to let the chords in it.
DSC00857.jpg


I think I covered all of that so just tell me if I missed something in the formula!!
P.S. the whole incubator cost under 10 dollars not including the thermostat!
 
Glad to see that everyone is getting you on the right track.
But I can't leave well enough alone and I took acception to the don't listen to the idiots at petco statement. Everything the associate said was correct, second of all there are some knowledgable people working their including members of this forum. I used to work there and I challenge you to call me an idiot. It's just frustrating to see members of a community lump together an entire group. Just like how we don't appreciate it when non herp people classify us as all nut jobs because of the people who do give us a bad name.

*steps off her soap box*
 
Corny Noob said:
Glad to see that everyone is getting you on the right track.
But I can't leave well enough alone and I took acception to the don't listen to the idiots at petco statement. Everything the associate said was correct, second of all there are some knowledgable people working their including members of this forum. I used to work there and I challenge you to call me an idiot. It's just frustrating to see members of a community lump together an entire group. Just like how we don't appreciate it when non herp people classify us as all nut jobs because of the people who do give us a bad name.

*steps off her soap box*
Click to expand...

I don't think that statement was intended as an insult toward Petco employees... However, it's a good point--while there ARE good, knowledgeable pet stores/employees out there, easily 90% of them are idiots that know next to nothing about that they're talking about...

Even the most well-intentioned pet store employee could hand out murderous advice and just not realize it, and it's impossible to know that the person in question is truly knowledgeable without quizzing them incessantly, so it's best to exercise caution when accepting advice from any pet store employee..

There are pet store people who know their stuff, and thank goodness for them. They're many people's and reptiles' saving grace... But they're very few and far between. Maybe it's just me, but I find grouping all Petco employees together as most likely "idiots" much more acceptable than automatically assuming that they're all the smartest in their field.

Bleh... Sorry, I got into a bit of a rant. I hope it at least made sense. xP
I guess that's my two cents. =3
 
Floof said:
I don't think that statement was intended as an insult toward Petco employees... However, it's a good point--while there ARE good, knowledgeable pet stores/employees out there, easily 90% of them are idiots that know next to nothing about that they're talking about...

Even the most well-intentioned pet store employee could hand out murderous advice and just not realize it, and it's impossible to know that the person in question is truly knowledgeable without quizzing them incessantly, so it's best to exercise caution when accepting advice from any pet store employee..

There are pet store people who know their stuff, and thank goodness for them. They're many people's and reptiles' saving grace... But they're very few and far between. Maybe it's just me, but I find grouping all Petco employees together as most likely "idiots" much more acceptable than automatically assuming that they're all the smartest in their field.

Bleh... Sorry, I got into a bit of a rant. I hope it at least made sense. xP
I guess that's my two cents. =3
Click to expand...
amen.....................

I was not trying to group them all. but all petco people I have talked to in multiple states have known nothing. i dont know about ALL of them, but i would say over 90% of all petco people dont know much. i no i didnt say ALL...
lets try to stick to the subject. Ok?
 
Some of the big pet stores like Petco/petsmart Dont always hire people that are specialized in all animal care. With rare exception most of the people hired there know a little about all the different animals. Some just know what they have read on care sheets ect... For instance I know about rodents and reptiles... but if you asked me question about birds I would tell you they chirp, fly and poop on my car. I think it is not that they don't care about the animals but some people don't have the nerve to look at you in the eyes and say "I dont know but lets go find out", pull out some info or go ask the one person that does know about that subject matter. I think pet stores should have website addresses and a library of books to look up answers on tough questions. And if I was a customer and the Rep said to me lets go find out, That would bring me back knowning I wasnt getting bad info.

As far as the snake laying eggs. More are bound to follow. I would look up info, and ask any question you might need. If you do not want to incubate or hatch out the eggs, try to find a Herp club or breeder in your area that might take the eggs.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone! We went to petco (lol) last night and bought a seperate cage for the other 2 snakes to separate them. We had 1 good egg and put in in a tupperware container with moisture and put it in our closet which seems to stay warm. Hopefully it will be okay. Even though our intentions weren't to breed, we definitely hope it will hatch!
 
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