Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

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Jimmy_77
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Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

I got a couple of kingsnakes that looks like the are about to lay eggs, and I´m curious about some details.
Give or take how many days after the pre lay shed will the eggs come? I have already prepared with nestboxes, but I´d just like to get some more info.
The species are L m thayeri and L p knoblochi.

Also info on incubation temps and time is appreciated.
I´ve read some online care sheets, but would like to get som more expertise.

Thanks in advance.

/Jimmy
repaphin
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by repaphin »

i think it depends on species, Gentula usually hatch a month later i think
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Sam Bacchini
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Sam Bacchini »

In my experience with North American colubrids the time between pre-lay shed and egg laying is about 7 days. Incubation time at ~80 degrees F is about 60 days. Lower temps will result in longer incubation times, higher temps will be quicker, but don't vary more than a degree or two at the high end (i.e., keep it under 82F). I hear they can handle lower temps (into the low to mid 70's) but have never tried it.
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tspuckler
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by tspuckler »

10 days on average from pre-egglaying shed to egg deposition. I put in egglaying boxes a few days after the shed, when I see the female getting restless.

60 day incubation when incubated in the low 80s. I like to use perlite as an incubation medium. I use sphagnum moss in the egglaying boxes.

Tim

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Jimmy_77
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated!
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Jimmy_77
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

Got the first egg today from one of my Thayeris, just one egg yet but she probably just got started cause she´s still fat and the egg was very soft.
Hopefully she will lay some more during the night.
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justinm
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by justinm »

Good luck, I love thayeri. I'm cooking some L. getula meansi now.
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Jimmy_77
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Sv: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

As found yesterday:
Image
No more eggs found today, its her first egglaying so maybe one egg was all for this time? Or can she lay more in a couple days?
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justinm
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by justinm »

I got 19 eggs and one slug from my Appalachicola kings first clutch ever. I wanted to breed thayeri, and I lost my only female last year. I have a screamer male that I need to pair up.
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Jimmy_77
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Post by Jimmy_77 »

Thats a big first clutch! I got another female thats really big, she shed the other day and hopefully Ill get some eggs from her as well. Shes grey with thin red dorsal bars, a real beauty. Thayeris are really nice snakes, works like a clock with everything, and the variation in coloration is really something else.
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Jimmy_77
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

Got another 7 fine eggs today from the same female!
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Jimmy_77
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Sv: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

Things are happening here now, got 3 eggs from my knoblochi yesterday but she still has 2 eggs left clearly visible. How long before worrying about them being stuck?
These are my first colubrid eggs, only had viviparous species before so this is new to me.
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Jimmy_77
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

The result from last years Thayericlutch - five black beauties! The Variable Kingsnakes wasnt so variable this time eh.... ;)

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The knob-eggs didnt hatch, and the remaining eggs caused my only female her life (euthanized due to eggbinding), heartbreaking.

The Thayeris are paired up again, and this time I hope for some Leonis phase and not just black ones.
Zach_Lim
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Zach_Lim »

To be honest, I really like those "black" thayeri.

Great change of pace from the typical "milksnake" phase and "leonis" phase thayeri that are so common in the trade.
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Kelly Mc
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Kelly Mc »

Yeah me too. I always wanted a black one.

I am coveting!!
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by zwhitman »

How long a kingsnake goes between prelay shed and oviposition is highly dependent on how happy she is with her nesting options. Experienced females that are set up properly will often lay 4-8 days after a shed. If your snakes are constantly going 8-14 days past their shed you should probably look at your laying conditions. Also, all eggs are normally laid in one sitting within a 24 hour period. Every once in a while you will see a female lay a slug egg a day or two before the rest of the clutch, but again, if your females are regularly laying eggs over multiple days that is not normal and you should figure out why.

A laying area should be DARK and filled to the top with moist nesting material that the female can dig into and create a nest cavity. A clear shoe box with an inch of sphagnum in the bottom it is NOT a good nest box. You should put the nest box in before the prelay shed so that the female has plenty of time to get comfortable with it. Also, resist the urge to check on the female too often as disturbance can make her leave the nest box.

Kingsnake eggs are very hardy and can be incubated anywhere from the mid 70s to mid 80s. Just make sure to insulate against rapid temperature changes. They will take around 55-70 days to hatch. Mine almost always hatch right around 60 days when incubated at 80-82F.
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Zach_Lim »

I am looking over the black thayeri again and i am quite interested-

1. What was the pairing? Do you have pictures of the parents?

2. Slim chance, but do you know the locality or the bloodline of the parents?

Question for everyone/anyone (especially John Lassiter if you are around!)- would the black thayeri be considered "melanistic" (much like "Grease" locality L.g. californiae and "Conjuncta" getula) or is it just a variable that comes from breeding Variable Kingsnakes (lol).
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Jimmy_77
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

Zach_Lim wrote:I am looking over the black thayeri again and i am quite interested-

1. What was the pairing? Do you have pictures of the parents?

2. Slim chance, but do you know the locality or the bloodline of the parents?

Question for everyone/anyone (especially John Lassiter if you are around!)- would the black thayeri be considered "melanistic" (much like "Grease" locality L.g. californiae and "Conjuncta" getula) or is it just a variable that comes from breeding Variable Kingsnakes (lol).
1. The black female was paired with a black male, and a "milksnake"-male. My guess is that the black male is the sire, since my Leonis female was also paired with the milkksnake-male, but didnt get any eggs at all from her, despite she is a huge lady.

I´m moving around both females this years, pairing my balck female with both black and milk male, and my Leonis female also with black and milk male.

2. No known localies.

If i remember correct the eggs hatched on day 58 on around 80-82 F.
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justinm
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by justinm »

I think the black ones are beautiful. I have only one left right now, a four year old male "buckskin". That's what Michelle Williams calls them, she got her line from someone that's on this board I think it was Robert Hansen? Anyway I love mine, my 2 year old was holding him for an hour last night while I was doing maintenance.
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Jimmy_77
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Jimmy_77 »

Thayeris in general are absolutely lovely to handel, never ever inclined to bite, I guess you really need to piss them off before that happens.

Got a 3,6 ft male thats a bit more erratic than the other but never any tendencies to strike or musk even right before or after feeding.

Terrific snakes!
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Ross Padilla
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Ross Padilla »

The faint banding looks awesome on those juveniles.
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by Norcal_Jim »

At what age is it no longer safe to breed your female Thayeri?
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justinm
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Re: Kingsnakes egglaying Q´s.

Post by justinm »

Norcal_Jim wrote:At what age is it no longer safe to breed your female Thayeri?
I know the Vet that rewrote/re-edited the book Reptile Medicine and Surgery. She told me that she's seen reptiles breed all through their adult lives, and that their isn't an age like in mammals where menopause occurs. So I would have to say that you can breed any snake at any adult age as long as they're healthy enough to do it.
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