Observe a female black pilot snake hatch a clutch of eggs and a newborn use its egg tooth to hatch
The female pilot black snake (Elaphe obsoleta) lays a clutch of eggs in a warm protected place. After six to eight weeks of incubation, the young snake hatches from its egg able to care for itself.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
-
Adapted from C.R. Scotese, The University of Texas at ArlingtonWatch a time-lapse of Earth changing through geologic time, from the Cambrian Era to the projected period of Pangea Proxima.Media Editor: Miranda Chabot
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.A hurricane is essentially a large tropical storm.
-
NASAPerhaps the most famous of all space films, these clips document the arrival of the first human beings on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The rattle of a rattlesnake.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.We've misidentified these snakes for almost 200 years.
-
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzA rattlesnake hunting coatis.
-
© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A discussion of venomous animals—particularly snakes and jellyfish—in Australia and the ongoing search for effective antivenins.
News •
Snakes on the move and pets at risk as weather warms
• Nov. 5, 2026, 3:36 PM ET (ABC News (Australia))
This snake cartwheels to escape danger
• Oct. 19, 2026, 11:00 AM ET (Popular Science)
Transcript
NARRATOR: Like most snakes, the pilot black snake lays eggs. Males and females mate after emerging from hibernation at the end of the cold season. Subsequently, during the summer, the female deposits a clutch of eggs. From 3 to 25 eggs are laid in leaves, hollow logs, or other protected places, where they will be exposed to the moist heat of decaying vegetation or to the warmth of the sun. As with many species, the eggs receive no care from the female after being laid.
If conditions for incubation remain favorable and the eggs are not eaten by predators, they will be ready to hatch in six to eight weeks. The watery fluid within the egg protects the snake from injury and from drying out during the hatching period. With its egg tooth, a sharp cutting device on the upper lip, the young snake slashes its way out of the leathery eggshell. Often two or three days are needed for all the eggs in one clutch to hatch.
The young black snake emerging from this one-and-three-quarter-inch egg is over a foot long. It will be able to care for itself as soon as it is free from the egg, though it will take more than a year to change color and about two years to reach adulthood.
If conditions for incubation remain favorable and the eggs are not eaten by predators, they will be ready to hatch in six to eight weeks. The watery fluid within the egg protects the snake from injury and from drying out during the hatching period. With its egg tooth, a sharp cutting device on the upper lip, the young snake slashes its way out of the leathery eggshell. Often two or three days are needed for all the eggs in one clutch to hatch.
The young black snake emerging from this one-and-three-quarter-inch egg is over a foot long. It will be able to care for itself as soon as it is free from the egg, though it will take more than a year to change color and about two years to reach adulthood.
Last Modification: