Ten snakelets that hatched out of eggs laid by a banded krait at the Alipore Zoo were displayed on Saturday for the first time to mark World Snake Day. Banded kraits are known for their black and yellow crossbands and venom.
“The keepers separated eggs from the mother with a hook and a tong and kept them in an artificial incubator,” said zoo director Asis Kumar Samanta.
The hatching of the snakelets happened in May.
Two other sets of reptile babies — 27 green iguana babies and 21 water monitor lizard babies — were also displayed on Saturday. The zoo had four iguanas, two males and two females. Iguanas usually lay eggs in holes and cover the eggs with soil. But in this case, keepers found eggs on the surface of the soil in the enclosure in June-end. “Fearing damage to the eggs, we collected them for artificial incubation,” said Samanta. The monitor lizard eggs hatched naturally but the babies were taken out of the enclosure because they are often eaten by adults in the family, he said.