Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If females can tell the fertile eggs from the infertile...AND she of all knows best how to take care of them...why not let her incubate them herself? Is the only reason because it may be more difficult to keep the temps and humidity constant and correct?

I've talked it over with MKReptiles about it, seeing as they use maternal incubation. Mike tells me to also make a nesting box with spagnum moss in it.

Any advise or opinions on it? Thanks.

Ryan

Then clean the females cage so she starts eating right away.......
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www.NEWReptiles.com

I don't use maternal incubation. The main reason is because, in the long run, it's physically more demanding and harder on the mom. While she's coiled around the eggs she is actually working, using energy, and not eating. To maintain temps, she’s twitching her muscles (to generate heat) and moving the eggs (up and down and sometimes side to side) to get them away from the heat when they get too hot.

By removing the eggs from mom, she can often start eating within a week of dropping her eggs. With maternal incubation, she has another couple months to go.
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Larry Walker

According to the research done by the Barkers in the early and mid 90s Ball pythons do not exhibit any twitching of muscles to produce heat like other larger python species. Also, I have never witnessed this myself. But I agree that it is better to remove the eggs because she will begin to eat a lot sooner and will not be wasting any energy incubating the eggs. Besides it is a lot easier to maintain exact conditions in an incubator.

For all we know they might eat enough better after maternal incubation for physiological or psychological reasons to compensate for the continued fast of maternal incubation. I'm not saying it's likely I'm just saying we don't really know. The one time I've tried maternal incubation so far she ate very well after hatching (but then so do most of the ones I've taken eggs away from) and she laid again the following year. It would be interesting to some day do a large-scale study to see if it really makes much difference either way. I suspect the main objection to maternal incubation is the human desire for the extra control that artificial incubation provides. It's hard to turn over the important job of incubation to mom but my limited experience and what I've read of the few others who have tried it sounds like even with our captive conditions the females can do a very good job.

Thanks a you guys! Never heard of the twitching to produce heat stuff...true or not it's pretty neat stuff. I think I might give it a try! NEW Reptiles thanks for trying to help, but I wasn't asking if I should put them in the incubator or not, I was asking what people think about maternal incubation...sorry about the misunderstanding.

Thanks again!

Ryan

I guess it is better to take the eggs. Just like they are taken from them in the wild?

Corns/kings/milks/and rat snakes yes; but pythons...I say let mom do it.
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RicK @ BbI

Ball Boutique,Inc.
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Can you point me in the direction of this study? I have noticed, my BPs either generate heat or retain it better than the surrounding environment. I have noticed a a 3-4 degree difference between them and their environment.
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Jay A. Martin

I prefer artificial incubation because I feel I can control the temps and humidity better. My rack units fluctuate considerably. Can the mother compensate? How much energy does this compensation consume? I don't know the answer to either. I'm not sure about them knowing what is fertile. I had a female last year discard one egg. It was the first to hatch and was quite healthy. I know one event does not mean anything.

Maternal would seem to be easier though. And cheaper when it comes to feeding.
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Jay A. Martin

We tried an experiment last year with one of our normal females/het caramel ball python breedings ..female laid 8 eggs,took 5 away and left mom with 3 ...imagine this all eggs hatched on the same exact dat,proves that snake moms do a real good job of incubating !!!

Bill/Jake Shanahan
JLSnakes@aol.com