Q. I have 17 corn snake eggs that have been incubating for 64 days now and still no little babies. I have had people telling me that they will hatch in 58 days or 60 days or 62 days. What is the average hatch date? I did my research, and 65 to 70 days comes up a lot. The eggs are alive, and there is no bad smell or mold or eggs turning different colors. The incubation temperature is between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Eric Stanford
Shirley, N.Y.
A. You can more accurately predict hatch dates if snake eggs are kept in an incubator with an exact temperature 24 hours a day. But if you hatch eggs like I do, on a shelf in the herp room where the temperature varies daily between the high 70s and high 80s, then it is less predictable. My hatchlings usually take nine to 10 weeks to poke their heads out, which is much longer than those who use incubators. There is not much you can do besides wait. Trust me, it won’t take much longer.