Counting the egss

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Counting the egss

Postby Sjuul Verhaegh » Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:13 pm

Saturday 5 November 2011 we went out for the nationale natuurwerkdag (national nature working day). Our 'work' was to collect grass snake eggs and count them. In total we counted 2800 hatched eggs! In 2010 they found 3200 hatched eggs on this location. After the nationale natuurwerkdag we also 'hit' a great moorland area where we found a very late juvenile Smooth snake! This found made our day complete!

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Greetings,
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:36 pm

Cool!

That Coronella looks very tiny to survive forthcoming winter. Anyone any "by heart" knowledge about what length or mass such a juvenile needs to attain to hibernate succesfully?
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:38 pm

(( P.S.: This should go into the "Central Europe" subforum, although I am also not really OK with calling Belgium and the Netherlands Central European countries. ))
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Daniel Bohle » Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:55 pm

Very nice work :-D
And how many eggs did not hatch?

The same day I was on a weekendtrip near rostock (baltic sea) and spend some sunny moment looking for berus and coronella too.
but this time i had no luck and found "just" a natrix :D
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Sjuul Verhaegh » Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:55 pm

Jeroen Speybroeck wrote:(( P.S.: This should go into the "Central Europe" subforum, although I am also not really OK with calling Belgium and the Netherlands Central European countries. ))


Your right! To fast with clicking! My bad! :oops:

The Smooth snake was a bit tiny indeed. We found very close to the snake something that looked like a vomited lizard.

We found 3 or 4 eggs that not hatched, at least 3 or 4 where filled with something that was rotten. I have no idea about eggs that can be pre-dated, otherwise you have a very high rate of succes!
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Mario Schweiger » Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:59 pm

I have no experience with Coronella, but in berus and/or Natrix newborns or hatchlings may go straight to hibernation.
I think it strongly depends on the autumn temperatures: to warm = bad, cool = good.
If the hibernaculum is cool enough, they will not loose much or even nothing on weight.
An captive breeding example: Youngsters of European land tortoises will even get heavier, if temperatures and humidity is ok.

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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:47 pm

Interesting, Mario! So I guess the conditions in The Netherlands and Belgium were not that great for latecomers this year.
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Gerald Ochsenhofer » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:08 am

Very interesting! :)
Did you find any sign in this, or the last years, that some eggs didn't hatch and still were alive (so the "juveniles" stayed in the eggs over winter and hatched next spring)?
Or very early clutches (like in Apr. to end of May)?

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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Gabriel Martínez » Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:46 pm

Awesome so many eggs found... and interesting the info about hatchlings hibernation. Thanks!
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Re: Counting the egss

Postby Daniel Bohle » Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:30 pm

Maybe interesting:

PDF No 0738
Author(s) Völkl, W.
Year 1989
Titel Prey Density and Growth: Factors Limiting the Hibernation Success in Neonate Vipers (Vipera berus L.) (Reptilia: Serpentes, Viperidae)
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