Mother snakes lay eggs in large clutches. The remaining 30% are viviparous. Snakes that give birth to live offspring include boas, vipers, and sea snakes. Members of the Elapidae family also lay eggs and examples of these are mambas, cobras, adders, etc. Depending on how they reproduce, snakes are divided into three categories:. Therefore, snake birth varies. Most snakes lay eggs although anacondas give birth to live young. This means that some snakes give birth to baby snakes, while others keep eggs inside their bodies or lay eggs in clutches. Snake Eggs vs. Live Young . The young have to break the shell to enter the outside world. Which Snakes Give Birth to Live Young? The majority of snakes lay eggs, around 70% of species in fact, while the remaining 30% give birth to live young. These types of snakes generally live in colder climates where it would be hard for eggs to stay warm during incubation. There are benefits to both styles, not to mention quirks: One frog species gives birth through holes in its back. Snakes can be oviparous, viviparous, and ovoviviparous. Others hatch the eggs inside and give live birth such as most vipers, rattlesnakes, boas, and sea snakes. Snakes will lay their eggs in a relatively warm location to incubate them, such as in the sand or soil or in patches of grass. The first type of … Most of us think that snakes lay eggs. Oviparous snakes tend to live in a warmer climate, which helps during the incubation period. One reason is because there’s a survival advantage in giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Snakes produce their young in 3 different ways. Some snakes give live birth to their young, while others lay eggs and incubate them for a few weeks until they’re ready for a life of slithering around their enclosure looking all cute and awesome. These kinds of snakes evolved approximately 175 million years ago. Here are the different ways snakes give birth: Directly from the egg: oviparous snakes lay eggs. This happens to be the pathway that the snakes follow in their own reproductive and birth cycle. This varies heavily by species, with some being more prolific egg-layers than others. How Do Snakes Lay Eggs, Snakes reproduce through the process of internal fertilization. Once mating between the female and male snake occurs, the gestation period can last from as little as 2 months in some species for as long as 9 months in others. They then either give birth to live young or produce no eggs at all. A Burmese python with a clutch of eggs. As mentioned above, both viviparous species (no eggs) and ovoviviparous species (egg retained inside the body) produce live and fully functional baby snakes.