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Hatching king snake eggs
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by elapid62 on July 12, 2003
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I had a king snake lay 10 eggs, on June 28th. I have never hatcked snake eggs before, but I put them in moist sawdust, in a small plastic reptile box. and have keeped them between 80* and 90* I am keeping them moist. should they hatch? Thanks Russ
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Incubating snake eggs
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by TomT on July 12, 2003
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I will make an attempt to describe the way I incubate eggs. The main thing that (I believe) you have to understand, is that while the eggs need
humidity and a certain amount of heat, there is definite cause for approaching both with caution, as too much of either is not a good thing.
Most reptile eggs can be incubated at temperatures that are as far ranging as 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit. The "preferred" range (for we humans at least) appears to be "around" 85 degrees + or - 2 or 3 degrees.
Allowing the temperature to fluctuate from 84-88 degrees or so, is what I shoot for. Temperatures much higher than 90 degrees will certainly kill most eggs in a fairly short time, in my experience, and temperatures below 82 will delay development of the embryo and lead to longer time between ova-position and hatch. If the temperatures drop too much below the optimum range for too long, then it is quite likely that the embryo will die, as egg(s) have a definite life-span, that if exceeded will most often result in a nearly full term neonate dead in the egg.
Too little or too much humidity will also decrease the likelihood of successful hatches... with too little humidity, the egg desiccates and the embryo dies. Too much humidity seems to contribute to the absorption of too much water and premature death of the developing embryo... so you have to be more concerned with humidity, in my opinion, than temperature within reason.
More people kill eggs by keeping them too wet than too dry, in my opinion. Slightly dimpled eggs is a good thing, as you can always ADD water to your incubation medium if needed. It is much more difficult to REMOVE water from the media...
To the good stuff....
Select something to incubate eggs in (medium). Most people use vermiculite or perlite. I use peat moss. No matter what you choose, make sure it is free from chemical additives, as eggs absorb lots of things (air
and water mostly) as they develop and you don't want any chemicals to kill them...The media doesn't have to be sterile, necessarily, but clean is good. I know a very successful reticulated python breeder who uses
paper towels to incubate eggs. I haven't had any luck with them, so I stick with what works for me....
The next thing I'd recommend, and this is possibly the most important part of all this drivel, is to build or buy an incubator capable of holding MORE eggs than you ever imagine you'll have in there at one time. After
you get the incubator (I use old refrigerators with waterbed heaters in the bottom) set up and running WEEKS before you get eggs. Also set up your incubation "boxes" (I use sweater boxes without any holes in them) set up with the media in them, water added, and ready to accept eggs, just as if you had a gravid animal ready to deposit eggs at any moment.
I mix the peat moss with water by feel... most people recommend a 1:1 (by weight) of DRY (dry it in an oven first) perlite or vermiculite and water. Once mixed, place the media in your incubation boxes and put the
boxes, lids on and no holes in the boxes, in the incubator. Leave them in the incubator for 48 hours and then check the boxes. Inspect the sides and underside of the lids for condensation. If there is condensation, wipe off the droplets and place the boxes back in the incubator. Repeat this as needed until the condensation droplets stop forming, and you have the correct humidity (in a fairly sealed box) in your incubator.
If you have a fairly stable temperature control device, your incubator is at a stable temperature within the desired range, and your incubation medium is ready to receive eggs.
When you get some eggs, make a slight depression in the incubation medium and place the egg(s) in the depressions and set the box (lid on) in the incubator. I check eggs every three to four days. If the eggs
start to "dry out" (desiccate), I add 1cc of water to the corner of the box every day until the condensation droplets begin to appear again, (repeat the wipe-away procedure until the droplets stop forming again) and
then I stop adding water...
I bury my eggs completely in the incubation media, as I feel it makes for a more stable environment for the eggs. It does not subject the eggs to the fluctuations in temperature they might otherwise see from having
the door open and stuff like that. I also place the probe of a digital thermometer in the middle of the incubation medium in one of the boxes in my incubator so I can read the temperature in the same location as
the eggs, not the air temperature outside the incubation boxes....
Well, I hope this makes a little bit of sense. I do know what works for snake eggs, and what doesn't. I've killed far rare python eggs than I
care to admit, because nobody would share the information I have tried to put forth here, with me when I was just starting to get eggs from my breeding attempts.
One last note.... many people ask about mold on eggs. Healthy eggs will not generally get moldy, but if they do, they have a natural antibacterial quality to them that makes it unnecessary to worry about a little
discoloration.... The main thing is to have everything ready BEFORE you get eggs.... then you can sit back and relax, knowing you have done all the right things for your eggs, and that your hatch rate should be 100%
for all fertile eggs incubated.
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RE: Hatching king snake eggs
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by elapid62 on July 13, 2003
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Thank you Tom, I have copied all that down for my next eggs. But, What I realy need to know is the method I am using going to work? I do not plan to hatch many eggs, I wild cought this king snake gravid. Will I have some chance of hatching these eggs? I may be keeping them to wet. I do have the tops of the eggs out of the sawdust. Thanks bud. Russ
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RE: Hatching king snake eggs
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by TomT on July 13, 2003
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It is almost impossible for me to say whether the way you are trying to hatch the eggs will work or not. I hate to speculate on the humidity in the container they're in. That's why I posted that long winded answer the first time, so YOU'D know whether they're going to hatch or not LOL.... If they're dimpling really badly then they're too dry. If they're bulging and REALLY hard, then they're probably too damp, but it's a real crap-shoot without getting to at least look a a picture of the eggs....
Best of luck...
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