corn snake eggs

Question
hi my corn snake just laid her eggs and i need to know how to incubate them.

Answer
The last thing that you want to do is lose the eggs after all this trouble, so make sure that you are able to get appropriate 1) temperatures and 2) humidity levels. You can't do this without proper incubation, so don't leave the eggs in the enclosure. It is not so common to see eggs successfully hatched when they are left in the enclosure with the female snake.

You can either use a hovabator incubator, or any poultry style incubator (WITHOUT the egg turner); a homemade incubator made from a styrofoam cooler, heat tape, and a thermostat; or a shelf in a room that has a stable temperature of 76-86F. Yes, that means if you purchase or make an incubator, you need to have the incubation temperature set to 76-86F. Typically, the higher the temperature, the sooner the eggs will hatch, but that can also cause problems with hatchlings that grow too fast, setting the temperature to about 80-84F should be ideal, and the snakes should hatch around 50-55 days (give or take).

When incubating the eggs, you'll want to use a medium that will hold the humidity well. Many people recommend vermiculite and perlite. Mix the medium with water, using a 4:3 ratio (medium:water). Some breeders prefer a 1:1 ratio. Just make sure that the medium is moist, but not overly moist so that you can squeeze water out of a clump of the medium.

The container that you decide to use needs ventilation holes (small ones) that allow air exchange.

Bury the eggs so that one-half to one-third of the egg is still visible. Be very careful not to turn the eggs over, as you risk drowning the embryo.

After about 40-45 days many breeders will take a moist paper towel or newspaper and cover the eggs. This is thought to keep the egg shells soft to give the hatchlings an easier time breaking through.