| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| OMGodzilla |
Posted - 12/05/2017 : 10:03:34
Hello everyone,
I need your advice.
I have been suspecting for a while now that one of my corns may be pregnant but it was difficult to be sure as she has struggled with her weight for the past few years. This time two years ago she was a whopping 1100g. Since then she has been on a strict diet and exercise regime and is now down to a much more reasonable 800g. However she is still very bumpy and flabby around her bottom end. She has multiple 'spare tyres' that we are still working on.
Because of this I was unsure as to whether it was pregnancy or just that she was gaining weight again. I just had a sneaking suspicion that that something wasn't quite right. She had been acting odd and has refused to feed since her last shed two weeks ago (completely unheard of for Riff Raff who usually bites my hand off for food) and she has been really active all the time, roaming her tank constantly.
As a precaution I put a nest box in the tank just in case.
That brings us to last night. I got home from work and checked on her only to find one solitary beautiful egg in her nesting box with her. Fast forward to this morning and there are at least 20 eggs in her nesting box with her and I think she is still going!
I have prepared an incubator using one of the guides on here so i'm ready in that sense.
But I feel totally unprepared to deal with the next steps! So here are a few questions that are running around my mind this morning:
* When do I take the eggs out?
* How do I know when she's stopped?
* When is it ok to offer her food again?
* Do I need to do anything else to make sure she is ok?
* What temp does the incubator need to be? (I've got heat mats on the floor of the polystyrene box and the eggs will be in a large Tupperware box with a layer of vermiculite beneath them. The box will be suspended a cm or so above the heat mats.)
* What does the humidity need to be?
And finally:
How the hell do I even start to think about rehoming baby snakes!?!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| ScalySituation |
Posted - 13/05/2017 : 16:34:39
I've not got the brain power to read all the comments so apologies if I repeat info.
Leave her in the nest box for as long as you can if you are unsure she's finished.
Take the eggs out once you think she's finished, normally you'd be able to see if she had any more but if she's still a little chubby you may not be able to.
You can offer her food as soon as she's finished but she may not take it until after she's had her post lay shed, you'll also need to offer her a smaller meal.
The incubator is the same temp as the vivs, so 28-29.5 ish.
In General the humidity is as high as you can keep it, as such you don't have to monitor it, generally, if there's condensation on the tub you'll be fine. |
| Kez |
Posted - 12/05/2017 : 16:12:13
I can't help very much as I've never bred my snakes, but one of mine has laid eggs for the past four years now. Most of them are no good but I do get the odd few that look as though they could be viable. However, as she has never been with a male (she was only a year old when I got her) I assume they are all infertile.
As I did not buy her to breed from her I always remove the eggs within 24 hours of her laying and freeze them for a few hours. It totally goes against everything I believe in, but then I just realised that as long as I froze them very quickly after laying then I was doing nothing any harm.
I offer food within a day or two of her laying and she has never refused yet.
If you know the male that has locked with your female and you can provide hets for what morphs the hatchlings are likely to be, you could always approach a local reptile shop and ask if they would be interested in selling them for you?
I hope all turns out well and that someone else who is more experienced comes along to help and advise you further  Best of luck 
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| Razee |
Posted - 12/05/2017 : 11:27:05
I haven't bred mine yet, as l'm worried l couldn't find home for the hatchies:-/ -so someone else will have to answer some of your questions... but here's what l'd do: first - are you sure the eggs are fertile, has she been with a male? If they are, and you still want to hatch them, how about only hatching some, and freezing the rest of the eggs? The embryos don't begin to develop or attach till after 24-36 hours after laying, l think, so it's not like you'd be killing hatchlings...just preventing them from starting to develop.
I think you'll need to make sure the incubator, and the box for eggs is at the right temperature (28 c? On a pulse stat, with probe in egg box) before putting the eggs in. You'll need to put them in ideally within the first 24h after laying ( and don't turn them! ). I don't know how to tell if she's finished ( other than the female leaving box - but often they rest in there afterwards ), but l think you'd be able to feel the eggs still in her. Trouble is, if you disturb her too much, she might withold any unlaid eggs... someone experienced, help?
I'd give her a lukewarm bath afterwards (28c ) to wash and re hydrate her, then offer a small and easily digested meal ( maybe fuzzies or a small ), if she takes them. If not, l'd leave her alone and wait after she sheds, and she should start eating then. You said she's a bit chubby, so l wouldn't worry if she doesn't eat, she's still in better shape than she'd be in nature.
I've heard some people keep a small bottle of water with perforated lid in the incubator, to keep the humidity high and also to keep the temperature more stable after opening the box to check on eggs ( water holds the temperature well ).
Other than this, there are many people on here that have experience with breeding, l'm sure someone will be along :-) |
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