eggs or slugs???

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Topic URL: http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3224
Printed on: 22/01/2025

Topic:

Topic author: Brookestar
Subject: eggs or slugs???
Posted on: 25/04/2009 15:29:47
Message:

i recently posted a topic about my corns laying eggs and now i need help.

when layed they were white and softbut now they are saggy and opaque.
i was told about "candling" so i tried it but didnt really know what to look for (can anyone tell me?) one of the eggs had a red sphere inside but the others seemed empty. can one egg be fertilised whilst others are slugs?

sont know whether its an embryo are not and if so how are the others empty. any help is much appreciated.

Replies:

Reply author: hillzi
Replied on: 25/04/2009 17:03:42
Message:

Heres a description of a good egg;

Quite leathery and crinkled look.
SLuggs are rather small, go a horrible yellow and stink!

Red sphere might be a good sign Not sure of "egg yolk" in snake eggs
GP might know

Reply author: Blackecho
Replied on: 25/04/2009 19:33:06
Message:

Saggy eggs is usually a sign of insufficient humidity. How are they being incubated and what's the humidity?

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 19:50:08
Message:

in a plastic tub within the vivarium at 21*c. dunno about the humidity as i dont have the apparatus for it but there is a lot of condensation if that helps.

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 21:57:19
Message:

in the viv you'll stuggle to keep a stable environment to incubate them, and 21*C is pretty low, i've got mine at 28*C. what substrate are you using in the tub? could it be too dry in the tub despite the air being humid? it is possible for some eggs to be fertile and others not to be.
here's a pic of Birch's from last year

the 3 in the middle at the top are good, the 3 below are slugs, as are the ones on the extreme rigt and left, the others all look iffy and never came to anything in the end

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:11:40
Message:

i will try to get a pic of them but my phine is playing up atm

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:24:59
Message:

take a look at the eggs and tell me what you think

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:26:49
Message:

need to half bury them in the verm and cover them with either damp paper or sphagnum moss

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:31:35
Message:

cover them completely with moss?

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:34:48
Message:

yep!
will get some pics tomorrow of my lot

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:37:35
Message:

because of the structure of the moss it keep in the humidity, helps maintain an even temperature and also allows a little airflow - ideal conditions

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:39:06
Message:

is it too late to cover them?

i know it is bad pic but are you able to tell if they good eggs or slugs?

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:41:34
Message:

bottom right looks very good, none of them look like obvious slugs, bury them, cover them and hopefully they should do ok, what temps you got in there?

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:43:54
Message:

just checked it and its 28*C

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:44:35
Message:

bottom right had a red shape in it when i candled them

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:47:41
Message:

sounds good then, just sit tight for nearly 2 months now................ *snores*
if there's room in your incubator put a spray bottle in there - when you need to mist in there the water is already the right temperature so won't shock any egg-inhabitants!

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 25/04/2009 22:48:03
Message:

hey, post count 43 now

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 25/04/2009 23:08:44
Message:

thanks for your help. fingers crossed i get some cute lil corns from them

Reply author: hillzi
Replied on: 26/04/2009 11:24:41
Message:

Agreed bottom right looks very good!

Keep us posting keep looking for hatching when time comes, see if you can video little cornys coming into the world

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 26/04/2009 13:46:01
Message:

im getting there on my post count lol

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 26/04/2009 15:30:57
Message:

bottom right and top right or the only 2 that are still round. should there be a fluid in them?

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 26/04/2009 21:26:05
Message:

they should feel 'full' but squishy, that bottom right was a great example in your pic of what they should look like but if they've sunken in just increase the humidity. if you handle the eggs be gentle and make sure you keep them the same way up as they were laid.

as promised here's a pic of this year's set-up
poly box


inside the poly box, plastic tub with the eggs in on a heatmat (on a pulse stat)


under the sphagnum moss, 9 eggs in vermiculite

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 26/04/2009 21:29:44
Message:

as nobody took me up on my offer of free incubation i resorted to the poly box which was plan B
plan A was a seedling propagator, bigger than the poly box, larger heated area than the heatmat, again on a pulse stat, but there's 3 times as much room!

Reply author: Tizzy
Replied on: 26/04/2009 21:38:59
Message:

Cheers GP pics are very mush appriciated - think i've lost all my eggs to be honest - no idea why, temps and humidity have been OK but they seam to have gone mouldy and yellow/sunken and stink. Think i'm gonna have to admit defeat soon and bin um.

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 26/04/2009 21:45:06
Message:

oh hun, sometimes they're just not meant to be even if they're not obvious slugs they could still prove to be unfertile

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 26/04/2009 21:55:13
Message:

where did you get the box from?

Reply author: gingerpony
Replied on: 26/04/2009 22:02:16
Message:

think it came with an order of frozen mice from TSM............ they're used to transporting fish i believe, your local pet/aquatic place might let you have one, or i think i've seen them for sale for £3-5 depending on size, just can't remember where

Reply author: Brookestar
Replied on: 27/04/2009 00:23:06
Message:

ok thanks GP. too late for this batch but i will be breeding them again so will be useful.

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