• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

How do you know if eggs are duds?

angelpaws

angelpaws

New member
I have a similar problem someone else did but I didn't know one of my babies was a female I was told by the breeder they were both males. They are best buddies but Rain stated acting weird and refused to eat Monday. He ate last night and I was so happy I took him and Angel out to clean their cage and discovered 5 eggs but they are all wrinkled and looked shrunken. That's when I discovered My little Rain is a female. I put them in a damp nest of moss with heat. is that okay or am I too late and they're dead. They don't look too good:(
Thanks,
Cathy Ann

PS - How often do snakes mate a year? I had Rain and Angel for almost a year and this never happened before.
 
I have them lying on aspen snake bedding with heat pad under tank with moist moss on top and a heat lamp from above and I keep misting the moss to keep it damp so it will be humid for them. I'm so worried about the poor babies Rain had them hidden really well. what a shock!
 
Are the heat and humidity gauges digital ones? because if they are the dial type ones, I know they are very inaccurate, so your heat could be very high and you may be cooking those eggs, especially with a lamp as well as a heat mat :( Lamps suck humidity out of the air.
 
One of them was turning dark yellow and dried out so I new it was gone the others started don't look that bad a couple may be a little dried out but other than being wrinkled may have a chance. I removed the heat pad and moved the lamp a little bit to the right so they'll get the warmth but it won't be directly on them. so maybe there's hope, do snakes breed more than once a year? I don't want to off guard again.
 
You need to place the eggs in an airtight or very nearly airtight box, in some incubation material, you said you were using moss right? Why have you got aspen in there as well?

Make the moss damp ie when you wring it after adding water it should not drip water, if it does it's too wet, so then you wring it out more and pat it dry a bit with some kitchen towel. Then add the eggs, close the box and place it in a place where it won't get disturbed and will keep a temp in the very high 70s to mid 80s Farenheit, like a closet or on top of the refrigerator. the box needs to be sealed shut to keep the humidity in, which the eggs will need to stay hydrated. Then all you have to do is open the box once a week to let some fresh air circulate, before closing it back up again.

I'm not going to guarantee this is going to work, the damage may already be done but it's worth a try :)

Now if you cohabitate (keep them together) then you should do a search of the forum for the words, cohab, cohabbing and cohabitate, as there are many problems that can happen if you do. In the mean time if they are living together, then personally I would seperate them or you could run into more problems especially if the female double clutches and your not prepared again.

Hope that helps,
 
I did what you said and I'm not sure it could be my eyes playing tricks on me but I swear I see movement in one egg. Keeping my fingers crossed:)
 
It's when a female lays a second clutch of eggs, with or without re-breeding, about two months after the first clutch is laid.

Not all females do this but some do, so you should keep an eye on her and make sure you get some good meals into her just in case. Smaller than usual meals to start with, so she can digest them easier, building up to her usual size meals over about a month.

If you are cohabbing, then she will more than likely do so, which could take a lot out of her physically, especially if she is young or small or this is her first time. Females will put all their energy and body reserves into making eggs, even if it sacrifices their health to do so. So get them seperated!

If she started out at under 300 grams in weight before breeding, I would be very concerned about her health if she were to double clutch. So be watchful and if you are at all worried then you may need to see a vet that specialises in reptiles :)

Hope that helps,
 
angelpaws said:
I did what you said and I'm not sure it could be my eyes playing tricks on me but I swear I see movement in one egg. Keeping my fingers crossed:)
Click to expand...

Yeah, your eyes are playing tricks on you ;) You won't see movement in the eggs until very late in the incubation process, if at all.
 
I just took Rain out so I could feed her again. I gave her a small mouse yesterday. She refused to eat Monday so she had the eggs between Monday and Saturday. She ate the mouse I just gave her but I noticed her eyes are milky and that only happens a few days before she sheds and she shed 2 1/2 weeks ago? That's not normal to shed that soon is it? Thanks for all your help. You're the best. Cathy Ann
 
Females will have a pre-lay shed, approximately 7 to 14 days before laying (this is how you can tell approximately when they are going to lay), and then they have a post-lay shed about the same timing after laying, so yes it is completely normal. :) If you think about why a corn sheds in the first place ie growing or shrinking, it makes sense really ;)
 
Thanks. I thought she was going to lay more eggs next week but you said if she does it will be in about two months:) I have time to get prepared and get an incubator if I need too. I feel so bad i never want this to happen again.
 
I wouldn't go feeding her too often, she could have trouble digesting :eek:

I would leave her now until after she sheds (also handling within 48 hours of a meal can cause a regurgitation, which is not good), then offer a small mouse every 5 to 7 days, for a couple of feeds before starting to increase her feed size, until she's back eating her usual size in about a month :)
 
angelpaws said:
Thanks. I thought she was going to lay more eggs next week but you said if she does it will be in about two months:) I have time to get prepared and get an incubator if I need too. I feel so bad i never want this to happen again.
Click to expand...

Is she big enough to handle double clutching? If she's under 300 grams, I would be a bit concerned about it happening, either way I would definitely seperate her from the male :)

The general guideline for breeding a female is for her to be around 3 years old, 3 feet in length and at least 300 grams in weight, but there are other factors to consider as well, such as general overall health of the female and muscle tone, which plays a big part in laying those eggs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top