Rescued snake lays eggs in captivity
Published: August 20, 2007
Mumbai — After rescuing two non-poisonous snakes in Kanjurmarg on Tuesday, animal activists were in for a pleasant surprise on Wednesday morning when they found one of the reptiles had laid four white eggs while in their care.
The Buff Striped Keelback (Amphiesma stolatum), a non-aggressive snake that feeds on frogs, toads, fish and small lizards and is closely related to water snakes, had reportedly entered a house in MCH colony at Kanjurmarg. Sunish Subramanian, director of animal welfare NGO PAWS, said: “On Tuesday, we received a call from the security guards of the colony and rushed to the site. We rescued two Keelbacks from one house and one Russell Viper from another.”
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The MCH colony has heavy vegetation and snakes are often found there in the monsoons. PAWS members said that while they usually release the reptiles immediately after administering first-aid, they decided to keep the Keelbacks for one night since they were flooded with calls.
“We didn’t realise that the female was pregnant and were excited to see the snakes cuddled up next to four oval eggs in the morning,” said Nisha Kunju, a volunteer with PAWS. Traditionally, Keelbacks lay a clutch of 25-30 eggs in underground holes from May to September.
Speaking about the measures taken to protect the eggs, Subramanian said, “We don’t know if the eggs have been fertilised by the male but we consulted an expert and created a burrow-like atmosphere for them to incubate. The eggs needed a damp atmosphere, so we layered the jar with moist mud, then placed the eggs inside and sprinkled another layer of wet mud. Finally, we put wet cotton wool on top for the mud to retain its moisture.”
He added that they had to be very careful while handling the eggs. “We used tissue paper while moving around the eggs, because we didn’t want them to catch any fungal infection,” said Subramanian.
However, the animal lovers released the snakes to their natural habitat because “we were told that sometimes they have problems laying eggs in captivity”, said Subramanian.
Agreed environmentalist Sanjoy Monga, “The eggs will have a better chance to survive and hatch if they are just left in the wild.” While the volunteers are not sure if the eggs have been fertilised, they are ready to wait for another 10-15 days to find out.
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