Eggs Eggs & More Eggs!!!

I'm not too worried about the bad egg either. Last year the big worry I ended up having was when flies got to the bad eggs and suddenly I had little squirmy wormies all over the clutch. That time I did perform "surgery" and removed the bad eggs, being very careful not to disrupt the remaining eggs. But unless I have some motivation like that, I don't think I'll bother. Last year another clutch (sans maggots) did fine with the "bad eggs" just buried in vermiculite to cut back on the noisome smell and visual disruptiveness of seeing the bad egg. After last years many disasters, I'm ready to accept whatever I get, and hope that overall I have as good a success this year as I had last year with my one viable kingsnake clutch.

I'm especially excited because this will be the first time I'll have more than one california kingsnake clutch hatch. Last year it was just Queenie's and the year before I had a blotched king and Queenie's clutch. This year I have five cal king clutches!

Towards the end of July I'll be making some serious progress reports... all other reports will just be when I'm feeling restless. It helps sometimes to just write about the eggs to help with the waiting. Of course I DO have two clutches due even sooner than my kingsnake eggs. One of my cornsnake clutches is on day 58, due real soon, and the next one is due on the 4th of July (which can take it's time getting here, PLEASE!)

Thought I'd give an update (I give these whenever I'm feeling impatient for the hatching, kind of like boiling water)...

Clutch #1 (cornsnakes) 10 eggs... on day 68 today! (hatch gosh darn it!)
Clutch #2 (cornsnakes) 9 eggs... due on July 4th
Clutch #3 (Cornsnakes) ... from an eggbound female, 9 eggs laid after she was bound and obviously bad, of the first 9, only four look good, but until I get mold, I incubate all. They're due on July 26th
Clutch #4 (kingsnakes) 4 eggs from my egg-bound california king Tigris by my high white Bishop, one of the eggs from after she was bound shows the most promising network of veins. The other three are also doing great. Due July 24th
Clutch #5 (Kingsnakes) Licorice x Jester ... she laid 16, one went bad right away, another is going bad (blue, green, rainbow)... 14 good eggs is still good! Due on July 30th.
Clutch #6 (kingsnakes) Pegasus x Bishop ... 7 eggs laid, 7 eggs doing great, due on July 30th
Clutch #7 (Kingsnakes) Euphrates x Jester .... 7 HUMONGOUS eggs, all doing great. Ugly eggs... a few transparent windows, lots of knobbly spots (too much calcium?), but lots of veins too. The biggest one is almost three inches long! Due August 3rd.
Clutch #8 (Kingsnakes) Queenie x Jester ... 11 eggs, due August 4th

Well my eggs are "cooking fine" ...

Current Status of each clutch...

Tigris: 4 eggs, doing very well, on day 52--4 eggs went bad
Licorice: 14 eggs, day 46.. 2 eggs went bad
Pegasus: 7 eggs, day 46.. all are fine
Euphrates: 7 eggs, day 42... the eggs are HUGE... one has a slight problem and might not hatch, but they're all HUGE
Queenie: 11 eggs, day 41... they're all doing great.

That's going to be a LOT Of hatchlings in a short period of time! 43 kingsnake eggs... the most I've ever had hatch in one season was 16. I think it will be fun though, and I get to find out if one of my male cal kings is het albino.

Sasheena you have gorgeous snakes!!

*blush* ... thank you. I like them. I have so much more luck with my kingsnakes compared to my cornsnakes.

It will be SO exciting to have the eggs hatch.. .it's the MOST addictive part of having snakes! Although NEXT year is the most exciting because then one of my snakes will be old enough to breed with the others and I hope to have some very exciting clutches.

I post a lot this time of the year... having summer vacation, plus eggs incubating, leads me to post messages to circumvent the impatience.

But... speaking about next year... what plans WILL I have?

Well let's see.... my kingsnakes that might be breeding age next year...

2.6 of my California kingsnakes are breeding age this year ... I will probably try to sell two of the females, so that I will have at most 3 or 4 California kingsnake clutches next year.

1.2 of my floridana will be breeding age next year, I might breed them. I might also have a hypo florida/eastern cross old enough to breed, but I have to determine its gender. (I got a pair, but one of the pair decided to die). I'm more likely to try to trade my one integrade than I am to keep it, but it's really hard to say!)

I have 0.2 Appalachicola kings at the moment. Someone has promised me their male next spring in return for some of next year's offspring. I hope that this trade goes through, because the one year I bred those the babies were SO AWESOME! (too bad my male died)

I have a Pyro and a Jurassic Milk that I might cross. And the jurassic milk might also be crossed to my albino cal king. I think that will result in some beautiful babies, especially because I believe my jurassic is het albino.

Oh... the numbers of babies I could have!

In any case, I am rambling. I do so love summer when I get to just "ramble" as much as I want. You wouldn't believe I spend 5 hours at work every day even though I don't have to go in to work for 4 more weeks!

Sounds like you're gonna be busy this year. BTW I would once again like to thank you for all your help with my KS egg problem. Update is, out of 15 eggs 1 went bad and was removed the others are doin great. I took momma to the vet and the lumps are indeed old rat bites trying to heal. She has started eating f/t adult mice no problem .


My question now is what do i get to breed her to this year? She's a speckled in case you didn't remember lol. Is there anything that hasn't been tried yet? I wish you the best of luck with this years babies.

Joe Henderson

Do you mean for next year? If you don't have a speckled king to be her mate, you might try to get one. I don't have any, but you might find someone selling one.

They are all very beautiful snakes! My fave is Bishop, he looks like a dalmation,lolz. =)

You should check out my thread on "This Year's Progress" .... lots of beautiful baby snakes. Thanks for the compliment on Bishop. I have three or four babies this year that look just like him!

Ok I'll do that, thanks! ^-^