Checkered Keelback Water Snakes

Tue, 09/11/2007 - 18:50 - k9



The construction of a drain exposed this clutch of Xenocrophis piscator (Checkered Keelback Water Snake) eggs to the elements. By the time they were discovered by a caring person, 90 of the eggs had been destroyed by ants, the tiny hatchling literally eaten alive. The eggs, which still had live snakes in them, had to be prematurely opened by the rehabilitator so as to remove the attacking ants. These hatchlings fortunately survived. The eggs that were intact were put into a temperature-controlled incubator and hatched uneventfully in two days. All 18 surviving hatchlings were released into a lake close to the original location of the clutch.