Q: I was working in my flower garden, digging up Easter lilies, and unearthed these tiny eggs. They are white and about the size of candy jellybeans.

At first I thought they were snake eggs but my husband said snakes don’t lay eggs, so we are not sure. Do you have any ideas?

A: I hope your husband is better acquainted with human reproduction than he is with that of snakes!

Indeed, some snakes do lay eggs – they’re called oviparous snakes – and some give birth to live offspring – they’re called viviparous snakes. King snakes and corn snakes are oviparous. Garter snakes and rattlesnakes, give live birth to fully developed young that have developed inside eggs in the female snake’s body (ovoviviparous).

I suppose the eggs could be those of a snake but their size makes me think they are lizard eggs. The 5-lined skink (also known as blue-tailed skink) is oviparous and is common in gardens.

Since the skink is a garden friend, I recommend you cover with mulch or compost any future eggs you discover