xarctic
New Member
Okay so here is my problem right now. My mom was doing yard work cleaning up an old burn pile in the yard and came across three clutches of eggs.
One clutch of 19 eggs looks like tortoise eggs which worries me because here (Central Florida) we have gopher tortoises which are endangered. So if these are gopher eggs they need to be protected and are highly illegal to have so I don't want anything to do with that. I know on my property there is at least 6 different full size gophers so it is possible it is theirs. The eggs are very round and have lots of little bumps on them they are not smooth. With a light I looked for veins to see if they were fertile and all of them have veins and about half of the egg is dark. There are two or three with punctures sadly. (my mom was using a rake to move the pile)
The second clutch I am very certain are snake eggs they are smooth and long. 7 of them. These are also fertile seemingly. They are probably about an inch long to an inch and a half. They are probably either rat snake or black racer eggs but we have a very healthy population of water moccasins which is a little worrying, I'm not sure if they give live birth or not. We also have rattlesnakes and pygmy rattlesnakes here but I'm pretty sure they give live birth.
The third was way deeper in the pile and they were scattered. Three of them are about a half an inch long. Also smooth and long looks like snake eggs. I found another one thats bigger than the others and when I put the light on it there was a clear serpent figure in it and I could make out what looks like a head at one end.
I marked them in the position they were for the ones that hadn't been flipped or anything to make sure I wasn't suffocating them if thats a possibility. They are all in containers filled with the dirt they were surrounded with. I sprayed them with warm water from the mister I use on my cham.
Who should I contact about the possible Gopher eggs? I would like to get a clearer idea of if they are gophers or not before I alert fish and wildlife to it and waste their time.
Should i get vermiculite to put them in? Whats the best way to prepare vermiculite?
What temperature should they be kept at?
There is just so many questions right now any suggestions would be great. I don't even know all the questions I need to ask. Please any information would be great.
If anyone knows a better place to post this that would be great too.
One clutch of 19 eggs looks like tortoise eggs which worries me because here (Central Florida) we have gopher tortoises which are endangered. So if these are gopher eggs they need to be protected and are highly illegal to have so I don't want anything to do with that. I know on my property there is at least 6 different full size gophers so it is possible it is theirs. The eggs are very round and have lots of little bumps on them they are not smooth. With a light I looked for veins to see if they were fertile and all of them have veins and about half of the egg is dark. There are two or three with punctures sadly. (my mom was using a rake to move the pile)
The second clutch I am very certain are snake eggs they are smooth and long. 7 of them. These are also fertile seemingly. They are probably about an inch long to an inch and a half. They are probably either rat snake or black racer eggs but we have a very healthy population of water moccasins which is a little worrying, I'm not sure if they give live birth or not. We also have rattlesnakes and pygmy rattlesnakes here but I'm pretty sure they give live birth.
The third was way deeper in the pile and they were scattered. Three of them are about a half an inch long. Also smooth and long looks like snake eggs. I found another one thats bigger than the others and when I put the light on it there was a clear serpent figure in it and I could make out what looks like a head at one end.
I marked them in the position they were for the ones that hadn't been flipped or anything to make sure I wasn't suffocating them if thats a possibility. They are all in containers filled with the dirt they were surrounded with. I sprayed them with warm water from the mister I use on my cham.
Who should I contact about the possible Gopher eggs? I would like to get a clearer idea of if they are gophers or not before I alert fish and wildlife to it and waste their time.
Should i get vermiculite to put them in? Whats the best way to prepare vermiculite?
What temperature should they be kept at?
There is just so many questions right now any suggestions would be great. I don't even know all the questions I need to ask. Please any information would be great.
If anyone knows a better place to post this that would be great too.
