Animal Lovers Web Forum

I never get tired of egg laying season. Frustrated and impatient perhaps, but never tired.
The hognose girls have been in a nest box for two weeks and no eggs so far. Firebird has been in a nest box since last week and no eggs so far.  I wasn't sure Kateri was pregnant, she didn't look that big. Just to be on the safe side I put her in a nest box.

I got home to find her with two eggs. She is a first time breeder so there could be 4-6 eggs. I got a small egg box ready. Five hours later there are eleven eggs and she is not done. I think there are 3 more and I need to get a bigger egg box ready. I will have to go to bed and take care of the eggs in the morning. She could take hours longer.

I underestimated Kateri. She is a slender snake and very quiet. I wasn't really expecting her to have eggs this year. It is the quiet ones that surprize you.

You sure have busy pets! I don't think I could handle all of those eggs!

Kateri surprized me! For a little girl she produced 14 eggs and at least 11 of them are fertile. They look good and they are in the incubator now. Kateri is back with her family and she is sleeping. She must be tired. It takes hours to lay a clutch of eggs.

I have pictures and I will try to post them soon.

Spring really is on the way when your snakes start to lay.
Well done to Kateri. What a remarkable first clutch. I hope all the other girls are as productive.
Aside from choosing an appropriate place for egg laying, do snakes care for their young at all? Or do they hatch with all they need to survive themselves?

Some of the python species stay with their eggs until they hatch. They are big snakes who can go that long without food.

Corn snakes need to leave the eggs so they can eat. The eggs are better left alone. They would get dirty if the female came back and the baby in the egg is fragile and disturbing the egg can kill the baby.

Garter Snakes give birth to live babies in a den so they are with the mother at first.  I came across a mother, surrounded by babies, in the foothills of the Rockies. She had come out of a den to sun herself and the babies were with her. I was sunning myself on the same big rock and I stretched out my arms and put my hand into the middle of them. The mom just pulled the babies back into the den. She looked  like she was protecting them, but I was very still so she was very quiet too.

Who knows there may be a snake species that looks after its babies.

Mostly they choose a good place and them leave the eggs.

My girls stay wrapped around their eggs until I take charge of them. I think we are very close and they trust me.