First time breeding

[dadxfour]

We adopted a couple corns from horribly unsanitary living conditions; the stench coming out of their cage was actually nauseating. The owner had also pretty much quit giving them regular exercise and stimulation. My 11 year old daughters quickly added the snakes to their daily activities: imagine snakes slithering in and out of a large Duplo castle, snakes in a pile of Barbies, snakes on the pool table, and my personal favorite the snake obstacle course (although getting a snake out of a rolled map, was probably a little unsettly for the snake). Since they had always been housed together (they are for the most part inseparable in their home), we did not separate them for fear of causing undue stress.

About three weeks ago the female (my guess based on comparing their tails) stopped taking food. Prior to this she was eating once every 3-5 days. So based on all my reading I assume she's gravid. We moved the male off to another cage (my wife says the man always gets kicked to the curb). And while my daughter is overjoyed at the thought of having a whole lot of baby snakes (even if she knows we will be finding homes for most of them), my primary concern is making sure the eggs have the best shot of hatching into healthy babies. So I have a few questions:

1) It seems the hova-bator is the simplest, fairly cheap (~ $50) way to go. I've also heard many people recommend just using a rubbermaid container with a lid with holes. I'd rather avoid by too much extra equipment since we will probably not breed them often, if ever again. Any thoughts on a simple, cheap incubator (I have one idea below)?

2) Our girl is getting ready to shed now, so I expect her to lay in the next couple weeks. I added a hide box to her cage using moist coconut fiber for the substrate. She was inside the box with in a couple minutes of my adding it; so I know she likes it. Once she lays the eggs, can I simply remove the hide box and use it as an incubator, including the coconut fiber? Or do I need to move the eggs and switch substrates?

3) We live it hot area with moderate humidity (~ 90-100 degrees, ~50 humidity). How humid do the eggs need to be? I've been experimenting with one method of covering about 25% of the hide box vents with a damp washcloth. I've have no trouble keeping the humidity around 75%, so I figure by covering more I could get it any where I want. The temperature is quite stable using an external lamp. Does this sound like a viable method?

4) Lastly, can the female be handled at all while she is gravid or does she require complete solitude? All of this is based on the assumption she is refusing food (we still offer it every few days) because she is gravid. I would at least like to take her out to see she is indeed fattening up. That way at least I know she is not just sick.

Thanks for any input.

 

[mbdorfer]

Welcome to the forums!
It is actually good to gently handle the female to keep the muscle tone "tight". This will help her pass the eggs when the time comes.
I'm sure those with more experience can guide you further.
Again, welcome.

 

[susang]

I'm sure those with more experience can guide you further.
Again, welcome.

:laugh01:

Hi and welcome, I know I don't have more experience.
My concern at this point would be with the male causing her stress. I would really try to move male. Not only because of stress your female will loose weight after she lays, it takes time for them to regain what they lost. The male could breed her again taking her condition down even more. Corns in nature do not live together. When you are sure she is getting ready to lay leave her alone. This is incredibly hard the first time and with only one female. Continual checking can really cause her stress, and possible egg retention.
good luck, susang

 

[Susielea]

It's good that you did remove the male from the female, as Susan said it can cause the female undue stress.

There are many members here that use a plastic box of some sort to incubate eggs, all you need if your temperatures are warm enough is a shelf in a closet, where you can deep them indisturbed at temps in the high 70s to mid 80s Farenheit.

I've never used coconut fibre for incubating, so I don't know how well it will hold the moisture. I know when we use it for leopard gecko lay boxes, we have to remoisten it quite frequently, but the hole for them to get in and out is big though.

I personally would go with vermiculite, which you can buy at most garden centres, without any added fertiliser, and moisten it so that it clumps into a loose ball when squeezed but doesn't drip water, if it drips water when squeezed it's too wet, if it crumbles straight away when you let go it's too dry.

Your female should lay approximately 7 to 14 days after completion of her shed, but they do not always read the rule books, so it could be a bit either way. She will possibly be a little unsettled a few days before laying even if she has been happy in the nest box up until then, so don't worry if she cruises her tank a bit for a few days after she sheds. You can get her out for some gentle exercise if she is out cruising, but once she settles in the nest box, I would refrain from disturbing her, as she will be preparing to lay. The least distubance you give her once she settles in the nest box after her pre-lay shed, the safer she will feel about laying her eggs there. If you disturb her too much at this time, she could hold onto the eggs, which in turn could cause egg binding problems.

Once she has settled then I would just check on her once every 12 to 24 hours, too much checking or actual disturbance could make her reject the nest box and she may hang on to the eggs, which is not good. Just a quick peek into the box is all you need to do, and if you catch her laying eggs, then leave her alone for a good few hours before peeking again

I hope that's enough info for now and I hope it helps, but don't be afraid to ask anything else if you're unsure

Good luck and keep us posted,

 

[susang]

I just re-read your post, you may have a hard time keeping the eggs cool. We had ths freak hot spell last week 108* a week ago today, today 65*. I had to put a fan blowing directly on the incubater to keep it in the 80* range.

 

[bitsy]

Good point from susang on temps. 90 degrees is dangerously hot for Corn eggs. Even brief periods at this temp seems to bring the risk of either killing the embryos or producing deformed hatchlings with spinal kinks.

If you can find a way of keeping temps steady in the low/mid eighties, this should give you your best shot.

 

[dadxfour]

No worries about hot spells here. I don't handle temps over 90 well myself! Our nights get cool here, so I'll just keep the light on for the eggs. I have one small container that should make a great incubator as long as the clutch is not to large. I'm going to go out tomorrow and pick up a slightly larger one just in case as well as the vermiculite. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Susielea]

I wouldn't put a heat source on the eggs at all if you don't have a digital thermometer to read the temps, as you may very well cook them. If your room temps fluctuate a bit from high 70s to mid 80s then they should be fine to incubate without additional heat, although they may take a little longer to hatch, but that's better than cooking them, right I think it's temps below 75 and over 88F that you have to be careful of :shrugs:

 

[dadxfour]

No worries. I have thermometers, humidity gages, etc. Our house may drop into the high 60's, low 70's at night and possibly high 70's during the day. But I can't stand anything too hot, so the AC will come on well before we hit 80! (I hate the electric bill, but I hate being hot more) So I will need the external heat. I'll just put them in the most shaded area of our house so there is the least fluctuation. Thanks.