It's egg laying time!

[Catherine]

Aurora the snow corn snake is in the middle of egg laying. She has ten eggs already. I am hanging around so she knows I am there and I am keeping things quiet for her as well.


This is the family

The soft pink/white one is Aurora.
The orange one on the log is Sam, the father.
Mike is the darker coloured one. She is the mother of the earlier eggs.


Pete is the grey patterned snake facing us. Her eggs are the ones that will hatch first. In the right light her colour is almost lavender tinted. She is my special girl. She is so pretty. They are all beautiful, but Pete is special.


As you can see they live together as a family. Of course I can never get a good shot of all four at once.

[Cibach]

I know very little about snakes so here are a couple of (probably very silly) questions.
Do the parents tend the eggs and then nurture the hatchlings or is it a case of the babies fending for themselves?
And how often can a snake lay eggs, is it annually or if something happens to the brood can they lay again as some birds do?


Exciting times indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing the babies.

[Catherine]

Quote:I know very little about snakes so here are a couple of (probably very silly) questions.
Do the parents tend the eggs and then nurture the hatchlings or is it a case of the babies fending for themselves?
And how often can a snake lay eggs, is it annually or if something happens to the brood can they lay again as some birds do?

It varies. Boas give live birth. Some pythons stay with their eggs and watch over them. Corn snakes lay their eggs is a moist safe spot and then leave them. The mom needs to eat and nine weeks is too long to stay with eggs. Also the eggs would get damaged if mom came and went and she might attract predators. The eggs are safer on their own.

Snakes are born able to live alone. The mom gives them a lot of yolk in their eggs so they do not need to eat for the first two weeks. She chooses a safe place to lay the eggs. That is her gift to them. They don't do well with a lot of nurturing. I have had to learn to leave them in peace for the first two weeks. When they start shedding I can think about offering food. I start to handle them very slowly. It is the opposite of mammals than need to be handled early if they are going to be tame. Snakes gradually are ready to be handled and eat and generally stop being so timid. They are so vulnerable at birth. Pete's babies are not ready to go for months. Mikes of course grow like weeds.
The father does not get involved with the babies. They are very sweet with the females however.

[AnimalFamily]

How interesting and unusual that some have live births and some lay eggs.
I imagine you are so excited to see how many new babies you will have.
Can't wait to see the wee little newborns!!
Pete is especially beautiful. I can see from the pic a hint of lavender, my favorite color!!

[Catherine]

Pete is exceptional. I have never seen a prettier snake. She is small for her age and her babies are much smaller when they hatch and more delicate. She has always been very special. When my first snake, Joe No Toes died of a stroke, I bought Sam, the orange one. I love Sam, but I asked the reptile centre to special order in a different looking corn snake. Pete is what they got. She was so tiny and it was love at first sight. I really had to baby her at first. She was my first girl to lay eggs. She has few eggs, but all her babies are different looking.

She is lavender coloured and I love how she looks. She is also a gentle sweet little creature. I love them all, but Pete is special.

I will get pictures of the other girls as they lay eggs and then there will be baby pictures. They are so precious.