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New to this, please help out a newbie.

Ailurus

Ailurus

Zoology Student
Ok, I have a clutch of corn snake eggs incubating at the moment, I have never successful hatched any snakes before so I am new to this. Basically the eggs were unexpected, I wasn't ready for them, I didn't have an incubator available, or the resources to make one, BUT I read in a corn snake book I have that you can incubate the eggs simply in a warm room of your house. So this is exactly what I have tried. They are in a tupperware container filled with about 2inches of damp vermiculite, the eggs are half buried. The temperature in my room stays around 27/28/29 during the day and drops to around 25 at night, minimum temp is 22, and maximum is 30. So yes I know a large fluctuation, however only a couple of the eggs have gone bad, the rest look almost exactly the same as when I got them out of the viv.

They were laid on the 20th of May, so going by averages they are due to hatch any day now. However they show very little signs of change at all from when I put them in the tub. There were 24 eggs laid, 2 were infertile, and 4 have gone bad.

What should a fertile egg look like at 50days? How can I tell if they are going to hatch?

A few of them have slight dents in them, I read that this was due to low levels of humidity so I dampened the vermiculite and placed a wet paper towel over the top of them.

Any tips or comments?

I'll post up a pic of them later, hopefully you guys can tell me if they look good.
 
Post some pics for sure...They'll start to "dent" before hatching...Have a clutch dropped on the same day as yours, and mine are also starting to dent in...
 
Ugh, you newbies have allll the luck!! :)
Sounds to me like you are doing everything right, incubators scare the crap out of me. Every year I read a heartbreaking story of a clutch (or many clutches) lost due to an incubator malfunction.

Your eggs should be fine. Plus, it is Murphy's Law that if a clutch is carefully planned for years, there is a great chance that it will fail. But if a newbie person has an oops clutch, there will be a very sucessful hatch rate!!

Just a warning though...you WILL go crazy. You WILL doubt yourself. You WILL pull out all of your hair and chew off all of your nails. Then, on the day you decide to completely give up, you will open the container to a wonderful surprise!!
 
Thanks for the replies!!

Here are some pics, let me know what you think:

Set up:
DSC_0098.jpg


eggs:
DSC_0100-1.jpg


DSC_0099-1.jpg


DSC_0101-1.jpg
 
Beware that "room temp" in the UK, isn't necessarily going to work - most books are written in the US and room temp in Florida is a bit of a different prospect to our dismal summers!

Make sure now that you'll be able to sell any hatchlings or that you have some spare cash for expenses. I'm on the south coast and only managed to sell my last four 2009 hatchlings a few months ago. Factor in feeding/housing/heating for them, for a good long time when you're calculating the costs. If they're Normals or common morphs then you're unlikely to recoup the outlay if/when you manage to sell them.
 
Are the eggs , soft to the touch or firm? They look like they might be getting ready to pip/hatch. Rose's eggs were laid 5/22-23/11 and don't look anything like yrs does in the pictures...her eggs are on day 56 and I keep my temps at 81-82*F degees.
 
bitsy said:
Beware that "room temp" in the UK, isn't necessarily going to work - most books are written in the US and room temp in Florida is a bit of a different prospect to our dismal summers!

Make sure now that you'll be able to sell any hatchlings or that you have some spare cash for expenses. I'm on the south coast and only managed to sell my last four 2009 hatchlings a few months ago. Factor in feeding/housing/heating for them, for a good long time when you're calculating the costs. If they're Normals or common morphs then you're unlikely to recoup the outlay if/when you manage to sell them.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I know I realised about the UK/US thing, but it's too late now haha. I am hoping to be able to sell them, my local store also offered me money for them but going to try and sell them privately first.

Are the eggs , soft to the touch or firm? They look like they might be getting ready to pip/hatch. Rose's eggs were laid 5/22-23/11 and don't look anything like yrs does in the pictures...her eggs are on day 56 and I keep my temps at 81-82*F degees.
Click to expand...

They are soft, when you touch them.
 
Forgot to say, since they were laid I have been putting a bit of money aside every so often to pay for their food bills and such, so I am not completely unprepared.

You guys and gals have got me super excited now!! You sure they look like they're gonna hatch? Could the denting be due to anything else? Just checking to be on the safe side.
 
Eggs kept at fluctuating temperatures take longer to hatch than those kept at a steady temperature of 82-84 degress F. You should not expect your eggs to hatch in 60 days - it will probably take longer. The dents in your eggs suggest that there's not enough humidity.
 
Great thanks for the reply.

What is the best way to increase humidity? As I read you shouldn't spray the eggs directly, so what would be the best way to do it
 
I am a first year breeder as well. I incubated my eggs in vermiculite with moss on top that I regularly misted with a spray bottle of water I kept in the incubator. The humidity was about 70% with the temp at 82-84 degrees F (not sure what the conversion is to C). My eggs never dimpled but for both clutches it was day 62 when I had pips. Out of 30 eggs I only had one not make it through incubation, I also didn't bite off my nails (was in the process of quitting the habit and I'm still going strong!) anyway I'm more frustrated now with babies that are being complicated eaters. there's about 5 that are being turds but the other 24 of them are great eaters.

Make sure you post pics of pips and the hatchings as they come!
 
Thanks for the reply. hope your fussy hatchlings start feeding properly :D

Ok I have increased humidity, I added some more sphagnum moss and placed it over the eggs, and a damp paper towel.

If it was due to humidity, will the eggs un-dent themselves? and if so, how long will this take?
 
I have seen pics and read of cases where dehydrated eggs 'puff' back up, not sure about a time frame though, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. My babies didn't even take up half the space in their eggs when they were about to hatch so the little indention shouldn't be an issue. Just make sure it doesn't get too humid, I was advised that a lot of condensation on the shells wasn't good either so I just went with the moss on top ;)
 
Ok great thanks for the advice. I shall keep you all updated.

In return for your advice, here are some pics of the parents (some of the pics are quite old):
Together:
DSC_0536.jpg


Female:
DSC_0347.jpg


carolina202.jpg


DSC_0024-1.jpg


DSC_0729.jpg


This is the only pic of the male I have:
DSC_0718.jpg


And here is one of my other corns, thrown in for good measure:
DSC_0529.jpg
 
Just tried to feed the mother of these eggs, she refused a feed, first time since she laid she has, thinking she might be double clutching, I had a look at her and she does appear to have a bulge, but this may just be due to me feeding her loads after she laid. I put a laying box in with her anyway, you never know, may have some more eggs!! I'll set up an incubator for that clutch, now that I have some spare cash.
 
You separated them after you found out that they were breeding right? It can be dangerous for her to stay with the male, but I am sure you have already read all of the "cohabing" threads. You seem to have done a lot more research than others I have seen.

Good luck with the eggs, They look pretty and should puff back up with a little hydration. As far as I have seen in other posts. I hope to breed for the first time next spring.
 
Yeah as soon as she laid I seperated her from the male.

Thanks for your compliments and support :D
 
So considering I may have another clutch arriving soon, I went to the store and brought some equipment to make an incubator, doing a 24hour test run on it, and if it all works fine, shall put the eggs in it. Current temperature reading is 82F.

The humidity is still good, however the eggs have not un-dimpled themselves yet.
 
There are no "definites" in breeding corns, as you are getting ready to learn ;). Your eggs could have dented for either reasons that were given. Sounds like you got everything as "set up" as can be, just keep an eye on them and get ready to get addicted to the hobby :)

Also you say you're feeding the momma "loads"...?...It's good to build them back up to strength after laying eggs, but feeding too much is harmful, both short and long term, to any snake
 
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