I have 2 corn snakes that i got in 2024 i had both popped by a local breeder (one came from him) as male as at the time i didnt want females as i didnt want to deal with eggs(this changed when i got into hognoses)
I very occasionally get them out together mostly i like to get pics together they dont even seem stressed by this so thought it was ok
Well my butter turned out to be a girl and 1 min they were just sitting there the next they were locked
Now she coulr potentially be gravid
Now i was reserching to start breeding hognoses in a couple of years so i have decided is she does have eggs im going to try hatch them
I have an incubator and will pick up a rack if she lays eggs
My concern right not is timing i have a holiday booked for 31st july (lock happened 31st march)
What are my chances of getting to see them hatch
I know the general timescale that it takea 3-5 weeks then she will have a pre-lay shed then 1-2 weeks later lay her eggs
Then its 58 to 63 days to hatch but can take alot longer iv read as long as 93 days for 1 person
Which should put me at begining ro middle of july but im after first person experience
Like when did your lay and when did they hatch
Obviously with just the 1 lock thus may be obsolete but i want to be prepared
My girl is atleast 2yrs 6 month(i know thats younger than advised)but is probably closer to 3 to 3 and a half shes 4ft and 567g
My boy is just over 2yrs just under 4ft and 427g
At 78-82F, it’s probably going to take fewer than 80 days to hatch. Does that help?
Unfortunately there is a wide variety of days between lock and hatch. Many females aren’t ovulating quite yet but accept males, anyway. Due to this, their gravid period can vary widely.
A much better guess for hatch date would be after she actually lays her eggs, which should be 1-2 weeks after her pre-lay shed.
So, yes, given what we know now, there is a possibility the eggs will pip while you’re out of town. The good news is, though, it’s much more important to be home for mama when she lays her eggs (so you can get them incubating right away), as opposed to when the pips hatch. Little pips can survive in their incubation medium just fine while you’re away.
If she’s ovulating early, like many moms do this time of year, there’s a good chance you’ll be home for the pips.
Ditto. Mine were at 82 in a controlled incubation temp and they hatched at 69 days, which is actually longer than expected for that temp.
She’s plenty large enough to have a successful clutch of eggs. I’d imagine at that size, she’s over 3 years old.
Just wanted to ask… are you sure that they locked?
Males will wrestle so is it possible that it was a dominance display?
I assume the photo was a ‘moments before disaster’ one. Lol