# corn snake breeding advice..sorta...



## Daleos89 (Apr 25, 2008)

i have a cornsnake...that i got in a swap...was thought to be male...

my friend moved in last week, along with her 3...
we wanted to compare the size of Ken, her reverse okotee..and my normal, Tarlach cuz he's a small 'boy'.... and then we put them in a tub because Tarlach dont like stretching out in hands....and within 2 minutes, theyv locked and were locked 23 mins (literally just now unlcked) .....totally unexpected

i was planning on breeding my corns in about 4 years when all my babies are big enough and i have some more experience..

what i need to know is what do we do now?
i dont even know how long she'll carry eggs for etc if she turns out to be gravid etc... incubation temps..etc..

any help welcome and appreciated

EDIT - and, neither were cooled


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

well sometimes all it needs is one lock up for them to become gravid but if your trying to breed them u continue to do this till the female starts looking gravid and is puting on lots of weight!!

hopefully the female weighs at least 4oograms as if shes gravid and under weight u could have problems, apart form that if everythings ok weight wise etc and she becomes gravid its roughly about 5 weeks till her pre lay shed then after that she will lay her eggs in her nesting box about a few days or a week after! her shed!!:no1: 

you will want an incubator set up way before her pre lay shed 

1 vermiculite

2 plastic tub (holds eggs + vermiculite

3 heatmat,aquarium heater(dep on which method u want to use)

4 incubator(polystyrene box from butchers,local aquarium shop etc!

5 pulse prop stat(only if using heat mat method)

6 temps to be kept at 27-29degrees 90%humidity

hope this helps


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## bignick (Mar 24, 2007)

*Care for the eggs and babies:* 
It is critical not to rotate the eggs after they are laid and if the eggs are stuck together leave them as they are because if you pull them apart you risk rupturing the eggshell resulting in the death of the young snake. Unlike bird eggs, in snake eggs the developing embryo will attach to the top surface of the egg. Rotating the egg may cause the egg yolk to cover the embryo; leading to its death by suffocation. Note the position of each egg as it lays in the nest box and maintain this position when transferring the eggs into the incubator. The eggs should be placed inside a container (plastic food containers with the lid work well) filled with coarse, damp vermiculite or damp sphagnum moss. The vermiculite should be mixed with water 1:1 by weight. This should make the vermiculite damp enough to just clump when squeezed together, the same should be done with sphagnum moss. The container should then be placed inside an incubator of some kind that will maintain a temperature of 82°F (28°C) and should have good humidity so very small water droplets form on the inside of the box. Watch the eggs closely, if they begin to dimple or cave in, then add a little more water by light spraying with warm water. The eggs should hatch in 6 to 8 weeks but can take up to 12 weeks if the temperatures are low. Various incubators exist, but I just use a heat mat on a good thermostat and put the box containing the eggs in on top, I have found that this works quite well. A day or two before the eggs hatch, the texture of the eggs will change. They will appear to be thinner shelled. They may also dimple somewhat. When the eggs start to hatch, the baby (neonate) snake will slit open the leathery egg by means of a temporary egg tooth located on the tip of their snouts. As the egg is slit, a clear to yellowish jelly-like fluid will ooze from the egg, and this is perfectly normal. This is simply egg white as seen in chicken eggs. The presence of this fluid is often the first sign that the eggs are hatching. The babies will often remain inside the slit egg for a day or two with just their heads sticking out of the slit. Do NOT try to force the baby out of its egg before it is ready, as it will be attached to an umbilicus and yolk sac. Forcing it out of its protective egg may result in killing the snake due to dehydration, as water will be quickly lost through the yolk sac and umbilicus. Also, do not cut the umbilicus, as it will cause the snake to bleed to death. The umbilicus will fall off on its own in a day or two so wait until the snake leaves its egg on its own. Set up each baby snake (neonate) into an enclosure. When it is feeding time (usually after their first shed) separate the baby snakes into separate boxes, because if you don’t they may possibly eat each other, because two snakes might grab each end of the mouse at the same time and start eating it. When they meet they will either stop eating and suffocate because the mouse is stuck. Or the biggest one wins by eating the smaller one but this will result in both snakes dying because the one eating it wont be able to swallow the hole thing so die of suffocation and the other one will die because it has been eaten. I use plastic lunchboxes with many very small holes drilled into all the sides. Use paper towels as substrate and put the pinky mouse in the box with it. The baby snakes will usually start eating sometime after their first shed. Start them off on a thawed frozen newborn (pinky) mouse. If your snake does not eat there are several things that can be tried to feed your troublesome snake. First, place a newborn mouse pink inside the snakes enclosure overnight. If the snake does not eat it, then take the snake and the pink and place them both in a much smaller container like a lunch box overnight. If this still does not work, give the snake a couple days of rest then try again if not, You will have to try a split brain pink. This involves taking a DEAD pink and cutting into the head to expose the brain. Place the split brain pink and the snake into a lunch box overnight. This will often work. If not, then seek help from me, or a good reptile shop that has experience of troublesome feeders. ​


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## Daleos89 (Apr 25, 2008)

thanks both of you for the info! very appreciated... me n my friend decided to leave em together for 24 hours..

it was mainly the incubation and care of the female i was worried about, im fine with problem feeders, ive learnt loads off diamondlil
thanks again


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## bignick (Mar 24, 2007)

i wouldnt leave them togther that long take him out give him a few days and put him back in the viv with her and then anopther brake and then back in doit for 3 times then dont put him back in


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## Daleos89 (Apr 25, 2008)

ok, cheers


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