Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After the eggs are laid how many weeks or days
will it take before i can candle them and actually
see the little snake inside?

Also if anyone has any good pics of there normal or
normal looking snakes laying eggs can you post a few here
please. I missed my snake laying eggs I was at work.

My wife is all in to scrapbooks and has been taking pictures
of the snakes since the first day the came home.

Thanks for reading............

look up ralph davis's "ball bits" on google its very informative

how many days in are your eggs when this picture was taken?
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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons

The pics were taken on Saturday the 13th of Aug.
and the eggs were laied on the 10th of Aug.

I know its still early, but just curios.

How much water is in the substrate you have your eggs on? They seem dehydrated and dented in, which is not good. They should look very full at this stage.

It's important for your vermiculite to be moist and for the eggs to be sitting on top of a dry patch of vermiculite. The humidity within the container should hydrate them. The eggs should not get damp as that will kill them.

Best regards,
Joe

I put my eggs in 2 parts vermiculite 1 part water, and put a cover over them... havent lost a single one yet. I would recomend the DVD Dr. Seward has. It is worth the price if you dont know what you are doing.

Ben Linville

I took your advice and added a little more water
to the substrate making sure not to pour the
water on the egg themselves.

About how long will it take before the eggs start
to plump?
------------------------

Hopefully you'll begin to see them getting fuller within a matter of days.

Most of the larger breeders use a larger container so they don't have to add water which is absorbed by the eggs.

The formula Bryan Kollwitz of Exotic Ball Pythons uses is 10 cups of Vermiculite, 8 cups of pearlite, 6 cups of water. This is then thoroughly mixed and poured into a styrofoam fish shipping box that he gets for free from smaller pet stores that would otherwise throw them away. (The Barkers use plastic garbage cans.) He then puts a piece of glass ontop (cut to size at a hardware store, edges covered with tape to prevent cuts).

A half a cup of dry vermiculite is sprinkled over the top of the moist substrate to create a dry patch the eggs can sit on top of. Other breeders will get a piece of plastic "egg crate" from the lighting department of a hardware store and place the eggs on top of it so they never come in direct contact with the moistened vermiculite. I like this idea but have never tried it.

The larger containers allow you to keep the eggs without having to add water constantly. About 30 days in or so, the eggs SHOULD start beginning to dent in. Eventually condensation will begin to form on the glass. When this starts, you need to flip the glass daily, which allows fresh air to enter the incubation container.

A larger "incubation room" is required to use this sort of method. I converted a half bath into an incubation room by purchasing a Helix 1500 and an oil filled, radiant heater. This heats the entire room and works very well.

Hope you find this helpful.
Joe