Help identifying snake

[guntersxr]

I am a vet tech at an animal hospital and a gentleman picking up his dog brought us an egg hoping we could identify it. X-raying the egg showed nothing. the dr said the egg was way to cold and it was unlikely that the animal was salvagable so the owner gave us permission to open the egg. so i took the liberty of opening the egg very carefully and it was a snake!!!!! the owner was very curious as to what type of snake it is and none of us had a clue so i figured id ask you guys. i imagine its way to early to tell but id love to hear a guess. he said hes seen timber rattlers on his property before so who knows. what do you guys think????

[Michelle.C]

It's a pity that the egg was opened, likely it would have survived. A short period of cold likely wouldn't have killed a snake at that stage of development.

It wasn't venomous. Rattle Snakes, Copperheads, and Cotton Mouths are all Ovoviviparous. Meaning they give live birth. Coral Snakes are the only Venomous snake in the United States that are Oviparous (egg laying) and that's not a Coral Snake.

It is not developed enough for me personally to make an educated guess on the species though.

[guntersxr]

for starters we had no idea what was in the egg, like i said earlier. the owner found a lot of the eggs in a pile of dirt that was transported to him. he said it had been on his kitchen table in a drinking glass for 2 days before bringing it in. he wanted to know, so i let him know. im sorry the snake died but the DOCTOR said the odds of it still being alive after all of the shifting and stress the egg endured as well as the time period it was in air conditioning, the odds of it living were slim.

[guntersxr]

i will add that the info you gave me was very helpful and the client was pleased to know that the snake was not venomous, thank you.

[Michelle.C]

for starters we had no idea what was in the egg, like i said earlier. the owner found a lot of the eggs in a pile of dirt that was transported to him. he said it had been on his kitchen table in a drinking glass for 2 days before bringing it in. he wanted to know, so i let him know. im sorry the snake died but the DOCTOR said the odds of it still being alive after all of the shifting and stress the egg endured as well as the time period it was in air conditioning, the odds of it living were slim.

Certainly Doctors are knowledgeable, but since he didn't rule out it being a venomous snake, I'd say he isn't an expert in all aspects of herpetology. Either way, I'm glad I could be of help.

Next time you find/someone brings in eggs, incubate them. You never know what could hatch! It's really exciting.

[guntersxr]

i agree with you 100%, few veterinarians fool with snakes. im lucky enough to work with one at the emergency animal hospital. obviously thats not who i was working with today, but a great doctor none the less. once again, thanks for the information.

[ed4281]

Relax, not a big deal but honestly, I have been a vet tech for 12 years and have worked at zoos and very large facilities DOCTORS don’t know everything and it’s a rare one that even knows his or her posterior from their elbows especially when it comes to herps. In fact most veterinarians rely heavily on the advice of herpiculturalists .

[ed4281]

Sorry about the rant just a bad day dealing with stupid doctors, that dont know a thing about reptiles but insist on treating them

[guntersxr]

once again, i agree 100%. i was just kind of on the defense when Michelle.C said i shouldnt have opened it, implying i killed the snake. i was merely doing what the dr advised to be in good judjement. as many drs i work with, trust me when i tell you i understand completely. thanks again for the input.

[Michelle.C]

once again, i agree 100%. i was just kind of on the defense when Michelle.C said i shouldnt have opened it, implying i killed the snake. i was merely doing what the dr advised to be in good judjement. as many drs i work with, trust me when i tell you i understand completely. thanks again for the input.

I'm VERY sorry if you took it as I was inferring you did it on purpose. I'm glad I could help, but forgive me if sometimes things don't come across as I intended for them to on a forum. I wasn't blaming you at all.