Stefan's garters

[ConcinusMan]

Not necessarily eaten. I've had WC gravid females "give birth" to just mushy decomposing parts of young. I could even speculate that perhaps one rotting dead inside can spoil the rest. Too bad about the crushing incindent, if that's what really happened. Maybe next time more thought can be applied to the birthing quarters. When I knew the time was near, I removed EVERYTHING from the quarters besides an inch or two of clean substrate and the mother and she was given 3 square feet of space. Only overhead heat was provided in a corner. I did that because I did experience some earlier losses due to newborns getting under layers of paper or other objects such as water dishes. They are sticky. They get stuck and/or smashed. The room was usually around 80 degrees but under the heat was around 90. Mother tended to stay away from the light, while the active young congregated under the light. Of course, nothing beats diligent supervision by the owner to intervene in case young are in danger. As soon as a few newborns were actively crawling around, I separated them from the mother. She was so big and heavy. They were so tiny and delicate.

Seriously stefan, it looks like those babies were dead a few days before they came out. I really don't think she ate them. but of course this is just speculation. First birthing experience I was shocked to find another snake eating babies but he went for the afterbirth with as much enthusiasm. I think that's what he was after.

When mom was finished, she partook of the afterbirth and a few stillborns that looked fresh, not rotten. I saw no harm in letting her do so.

[Stefan-A]

Seriously stefan, it looks like those babies were dead a few days before they came out.

No, I'd say they were dead for a couple of days before I found them. A couple of days on the heat pad does wonders.