Seriously Confused

[cornell]

Hi everyone

So as the subject header suggests, i'm seriously confused by what I've found.

I have two corns living in a tub, a silver female and normal male.

They are approaching two years old and eating hopper mice religiously.

This evening I was doing the rounds and found what seems like a clump of eggs.

Is this at all possible?

I didnt have any intention of breeding anything this year (and to be honest I havent bred anything before).

I didnt reduce temps this winter and both corns have been eating like machines throughout winter.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Pics below...






The mom in question...

[kfc223]

This is what happens when you keep snakes together, learn a lesson from this and keep all your reptiles separately.

Incubate the eggs at 28c and they should hatch in sixty days. All the young will be normal het anery.

You should start feeding the mother adult mice because she looks a bit skinny.

[Durban Keeper]

If it seriously confuses you then send me a PM and Ill give you a lesson on the birds and the bees.

Jokes aside you can be glad she did not lay them in their water bowl. Get those eggs onto some slightly damp vermiculite before they dry out, they definitly look fertile to me.

Best of luck!

[cornell]

Haha!

The birds and bee's im ok with, thanks DK!

Thanks for the advice chaps.

The corns are the only snakes I keep together, everything else is seperated.

They have been put in seperate tubs (even though I guess the deed has been done).

I guess the confusion comes in regarding sexual maturity - according to the research I have done corns can typically reproduce from three years of age (and/or the appropriate body weight). These guys seem too small to be breeding which is why i've been caught off guard so to speak.

@Kfc - i typically feed a meal big enough to leave a moderate lump once a week, should I still go bigger with food items?

@DK - the eggs are going to a mates with an incubator set up in the morning.

Thanks again for the advice.

[kfc223]

Well it comes down to personal preference, prefer feeding larger meals but less often. It all depends on the snake, but I'm sure that female could chow a adult mouse.

Another thing to add is these snakes can start breeding at a year in some cases but its best to get them to a decent size until breeding. I have seen cases where a year old female housie ends up gravid because she was kept with a male of the same age. So snakes don't read the caresheets saying not to breed till three years and they will try to breed whenever they want to. Most males are capable of breeding by a year old but if a small female ends up gravid she can end up egg bound.

[Graeme]

3 years, 30 inches, or 300g. Whichever comes first Cornell. And congratulations, they look lovely! I have a female that did this to me 13 years ago, and she is still one of our best breeders.

[Unforgiven]

I second what Graeme said. You can be lucky the female did not have a larger clutch otherwise she would have been very thin.

I'm also quite sure your female could take an adult mouse. My king snake which is a bit smalle then that is flooring adult mice.

I can undertsand you confusion on them breeding sooner, but I'm sure you have read that they can breed at that age. Like Kfc said, they can breed from a year old, but it really is not a good idea. There are actually quite a few breeders who have bred snakes at a year old - granted they were power fed to prove out various morphs and get second and 3rd gen snakes.

Congrats on the clutch, I hope they all make it

[Jamster]

Think of snakes as teenagers. Theyre only supposed to drink alcohol at age 18, but that doesnt mean they stick to it. That corn could chow adult mice easily.

[Serpent]

Excellent buddy, its a beautiful thing. Just house the eggs properly and who knows what the clutch may throw!

[Cyberduke]

Nice man, be happy! The first time I've ever breed snakes was a pair of 2year old corn last year. They can definitely reproduce successful at that age. Can't remember the weight of the female but I got 11 fertile eggs, and 10 out of them hatched.