Piggy and Monty, got eggs!!!!!!

[Theresa]

Hi everyone,
I'm new here and more than just a little bit excited! I got home from work today and my sister pointed out that there are EGGS in my ball python Tank!!! The only info I can't seem to find is whether or not I should seperate the male from the female while she incubates the eggs!!!! I'm so happy and excited, I want to do this right, these guys are my sweethearts, Can anybody out there help me, PLEASE??????

[Monty]

take the male out and make sure if you are maturnaily incubating to know exactly what needs to be done and how it needs to be done

[Theresa]

Thanks, I've been reading EVERYTHING I can get my hands on about this situation and I also have several people here in town who have been thru this before themselves. I just couldn't get in touch with them last night when I posted this thread. Monty seems to be very protective of her right now. Can this just be my imagination or is it normal for him to be so protective of her. I'll tell you one thing for sure, anyone who says that snakes don't show feelings definitely does not know what they're talking about!

[SatanicIntention]

Definitely get the male out, he's not serving a purpose and is only stressing the female. He is not protecting her.. He likely smells the eggs or is just stressed himself and is striking out because of that. Housing them together only serves to stress both snakes out, ensures the transfer of parasites and diseases such as respiratory infections, and can also mean the demise of one or both snakes if one decides they want to cannibalize the other one. Separate the snakes and keep the separated. They do not need or want company.

If you're going to let her maternally incubate, her enclosure needs to be EXACT. Temperatures need to be between 90-92 on the warm side and no lower than about 85 on the cool side. Humidity needs to be in the 70-80%(not wet, HUMID). This means covering the screen lid with a sheet of plexiglass with barely any screen exposed, or covering it with foil or saran wrap to keep the heat and humidity in, and minimizing drafts. If you are using any lamps, get rid of them, as they will dry out the air and will kill the eggs. Adding some wrung out sphagnum moss(found at Lowe's or Home Depot by the name of MosserLee) helps too. DO NOT spray the snake or the eggs directly. Keep fresh water available at all times.

Make sure you are measuring all temperatures and humidity with a DIGITAL guage. Do not guess, or your female cannot be successful.

Letting her incubate the eggs also means she won't eat for another 60 days, when she is already low on reserves as it is. You cannot hold her, you can't clean out the enclosure, and you can't bother her.

If you want to artificially incubate the eggs in an incubator, there are quite a few threads on here that have instructions.

[jkobylka]

Definitely get the male out, he's not serving a purpose and is only stressing the female. He is not protecting her.. He likely smells the eggs or is just stressed himself and is striking out because of that. Housing them together only serves to stress both snakes out, ensures the transfer of parasites and diseases such as respiratory infections, and can also mean the demise of one or both snakes if one decides they want to cannibalize the other one. Separate the snakes and keep the separated. They do not need or want company.

If you're going to let her maternally incubate, her enclosure needs to be EXACT. Temperatures need to be between 90-92 on the warm side and no lower than about 85 on the cool side. Humidity needs to be in the 70-80%(not wet, HUMID). This means covering the screen lid with a sheet of plexiglass with barely any screen exposed, or covering it with foil or saran wrap to keep the heat and humidity in, and minimizing drafts. If you are using any lamps, get rid of them, as they will dry out the air and will kill the eggs. Adding some wrung out sphagnum moss(found at Lowe's or Home Depot by the name of MosserLee) helps too. DO NOT spray the snake or the eggs directly. Keep fresh water available at all times.

Make sure you are measuring all temperatures and humidity with a DIGITAL guage. Do not guess, or your female cannot be successful.

Letting her incubate the eggs also means she won't eat for another 60 days, when she is already low on reserves as it is. You cannot hold her, you can't clean out the enclosure, and you can't bother her.

If you want to artificially incubate the eggs in an incubator, there are quite a few threads on here that have instructions.

Great advice...

Good luck!!!

Justin

[Theresa]

God! You guys are the absolute BEST! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your help! OK, we've decided to artificailly incubate the eggs, we have a friend who runs the Pet Station Pet Store here in town, we went to him and he said that he has 2 incubators at his house just gathering dust. So he's going to bring us one of them either tonight or tomorrow AM. (He's done this before with BP's, Boas, and bearded Dragons(like my Lizzie girl!) so I'm pretty confident in his word) But again, I just can't thank you all enough, So please accept my most sincere thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Love you people!
Theresa in Tahoe