Quote Originally Posted by Cataholic View Post
Snakie- as you might recall, I have snakes, lots and lots of them, in my backyard. Is it true that they are 'aggressive' only when babies are around? I swear this snake was out to get me! When in the past, they seem more interested in getting away from me.

Sadly, one little one met its demise in my basement.
Depends on the species, though I've never heard of a snake being aggressive around its babies. Most of them don't hang around to see the babies hatch. I've heard some racers can be pretty mean (though harmless!).

Pearl and Kostya will have another date tomorrow, and maybe one more on Tuesday.

After that, I'll wait two weeks or so before giving Pearl a nesting box an taking out her big water bowl. For some reason corn snakes like to lay eggs in their water bowls, which kills the eggs, so she gets a small water bowl until the eggs arrive. How long it takes before egg laying really depends on when she ovulates. Since I don't hibernate them srtificially and it stays pretty warm here year round, that's going ot be unpredictable. Probably no more than a month though, and they DO generally shed a week to ten days before laying. Once the eggs have laid, you CAN re-introduce the male and attempt to get a second clutch. I don't plan to do this as it's hard on the female. Pearl is a pet first and I need to watch out for her health. Of course, some females will drop a second clutch no matter what, so we'll see. I'll have my hands full with the first clutch if she drops 22 like last year!

Eggs take 2-3 months-ish to hatch, depending on the temperature they're incubated at.