06-04-2008, 03:12 AM
thanks for the well wishes - I'm not going to count my snakes before the hatch. 
I think incubation time is about 2-3 months. I need to look it up (I'm still trying to calm down).
PeterB - there are all sorts of reasons snake eggs don't hatch. You're right that some aren't fertilized but those are usually easy to tell (they're smaller and yellow). Other reasons include incorrect temps and humidity. Unlike chicken eggs, snake eggs are soft shelled (leathery). They can't dry out. On the flip side, they can't be wet either. If incubation temps are too high, it can cause defects or just kill the embryos outright.
I think those are the most common reasons.
I knew when my mother's snakes had their mating "accident" a few years back that I should have invested in a proper incubator!
Normally, our snakes are only allowed to live with others of their same kind and sex. That's to help avoid accidents like these. But these are new snakes - hadn't been able to determine who was male and who was female. There are 3 of them and I'm certainly hoping that the other 2 are male. I don't think I want to go through this again!
I think incubation time is about 2-3 months. I need to look it up (I'm still trying to calm down).
PeterB - there are all sorts of reasons snake eggs don't hatch. You're right that some aren't fertilized but those are usually easy to tell (they're smaller and yellow). Other reasons include incorrect temps and humidity. Unlike chicken eggs, snake eggs are soft shelled (leathery). They can't dry out. On the flip side, they can't be wet either. If incubation temps are too high, it can cause defects or just kill the embryos outright.
I think those are the most common reasons.
I knew when my mother's snakes had their mating "accident" a few years back that I should have invested in a proper incubator!
Normally, our snakes are only allowed to live with others of their same kind and sex. That's to help avoid accidents like these. But these are new snakes - hadn't been able to determine who was male and who was female. There are 3 of them and I'm certainly hoping that the other 2 are male. I don't think I want to go through this again!