Black-headed python progression thread

Here are links to a couple short videos of Bonnie eating a baby bonita. She was insistent on trying to eat it tail first and the tail was giving her issues so i had to stop the video and cut the tail off. She immediately took it head first when I put it back in there.
Funny how one of the most challenging species to get feeding as babies will literally eat anything you put in front of them.

Pt.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA4UErc6l28
Pt.2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNPYgywE8c

Ever see a horny female black-headed python before?
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...45362289098834
Things are looking promising this season!

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Your BHPs are amazing! Definitely one of my dream snakes. Best wishes for a healthy, hearty clutch.

Success! Bonny and Clyde are officially a pair.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...23875c3b90.jpg

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Originally Posted by enginee837

Success! Bonny and Clyde are officially a pair.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...23875c3b90.jpg

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Those babies are gonna be gangstas!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You've got some amazing BHP's - Let's see more YouTube videos LOL

Sometimes owning aspedities is a bit like this....
Disclaimer, meme stolen from a friend and fellow BHP keeper.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...faee30270b.jpg

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haha that's great! And congrats on the successful pairing!

Looks like we could have eggs in our future!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bb66a9269b.jpg

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My latest incubator project. I took an old beverage cooler, removed the compressor and repurposed the condenser with the circulation fan routing air through it. The condenser will help normalize the humidified/oxygenated air prior to being pumped into the egg boxes.
Still working on dialing in the correct amount of air flow and have to add heat tape. Further pics to follow as the project progresses. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f37871a4b0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...da9f5a7f31.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...20736de657.jpg

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Waaaaayyyy cool! Keep us all posted!


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congrats on the upcoming eggs and clutch!

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Originally Posted by enginee837

My latest incubator project. I took an old beverage cooler, removed the compressor and repurposed the condenser with the circulation fan routing air through it. The condenser will help normalize the humidified/oxygenated air prior to being pumped into the egg boxes.
Still working on dialing in the correct amount of air flow and have to add heat tape. Further pics to follow as the project progresses.

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i LOVE your DIY stuff! looks like u really scaled up w/ this build. have u been hiding some extra 0.1 Aspidites that are ready to go? ;)
anyways the use of the of the condenser looks really cool! how were u able to compensate the humidified/oxygenated air in your previous design? i'm sure this design is a step up somehow but i don't know the mechanics of the pumped air design.

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Originally Posted by Ax01

congrats on the upcoming eggs and clutch!

Edit:

i LOVE your DIY stuff! looks like u really scaled up w/ this build. have u been hiding some extra 0.1 Aspidites that are ready to go? ;)
anyways the use of the of the condenser looks really cool! how were u able to compensate the humidified/oxygenated air in your previous design? i'm sure this design is a step up somehow but i don't know the mechanics of the pumped air design.

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My previous design relied solely on the water it was pumped through to humidify and normalize temperature of the air. As a result if the water level of the humidifier containers got outside a certain range the temp and humidity of air pumped into the egg boxes could change. Due to this water had to be added to the containers weekly. Another issue was the containers would get gross and need to be cleaned.
The new design pumps air via a fish tank air pump just like the old one however rather than go directly into the water, it is pumped through the condenser first which normalizes the temperature of the fresh oxygenated air then it goes through the air stones in the water. I also moved away from a container and switched to jugs that I simply replace with new ones as the old ones get empty. The only thing that gets reused is the cap.
Once the air goes through the condenser then the humidifier it gets pumped into the egg boxes. I control humidity with vent holes on the egg boxes. More vent holes means lower humidity and vise versus.

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Humidity in the incubator is 48% right now, kind of high for here because it is raining outside. Usually it is in the 30's.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cec42617bd.jpg

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Humidity in the egg boxes is 94%. This is on a dry perlite base.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d250840ce7.jpg

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Temps are still low because the heat tape has not come in yet.

Looks like we may have a couple gravid womas too thus season.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...566f08b9fe.jpg

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A very gravid and I am guessing uncomfortable bhp.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...fe17629c21.jpg

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Good luck


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Wife just sent me this, looks like she decided to lay while I am on shift. Any pro tips on separating stuck eggs would be much appreciated. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7dbea927d3.jpg

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Total of 7 eggs, 1 was obviously infertile and was discarded 1 boob and 1 looked healthy but was pushed out of the clutch by the mom. I have been told that the females will do this if they sense something is wrong with it but it has been my experience that is not the case is we are incubating it.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c0042876e4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...59a405167c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1d52eaf64e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f747e897bd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...57f1654c57.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e6c5bba11f.jpg

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Way exciting! Congrats!


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Good luck

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That's awesome! Good luck!

Congratulations! :gj: Fingers crossed for ya...

So according to Derek days 15 and 45 are the two hurdles with blackhead eggs. We are on day 21 and have 5 still going strong. These eggs are massive and emit enough heat and moisture to regularly change the climate in their egg boxes. This is why it was necessary to have a baseline climate in the boxes prior to the eggs being placed in there. With the my incubator set up maintaining humidity at 95% I can tell if the eggs are taking on water or releasing based on the humidity being higher or lower than 95% and adjust my humidified airflow accordingly. This system also allows me to run up to 99% humidity without any condensation which also is imperative as any direct contact with water will kill the eggs.
Fingers crossed, 5 weeks to go.

Bonus pic, one of our very gravid womas.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4e3cb7cdf1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...623884f258.jpg

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Congrats!

The weather was nice so I decided to take Patty outside for a quick photo op.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a00336c3eb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2950d1bc77.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4b49fea4cd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cbd468b8c4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d49f7564b4.jpg

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What a stunner


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Patty looks AMAZING! Those BHPs are gorgeous animals! Best wishes with your clutch.

Noticed a slight wet spot on one of the eggs yesterday. Crazy how this can happen with absolutely zero condensation in the egg box. Apparently it happens when the eggs try to let off a little moisture of their own if it is too humid to do so. Typically this is a death sentence for the affected egg however with my incubator I was able to drop the humidity to 75% for about 5 hours and it cleared up then bring it back up to about 92%. Fingers crossed, Monday will be day 45 which is the second big hurdle for these guys. Pics are before and after the humidity adjustment. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7287ec868b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...269e98cb19.jpg

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Day 60, they should pip any day now!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a0c1bcadcd.jpg

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Wow, they're almost there....:please: C'mon snakelets, you can do this!

1st piphttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...59983ca8ba.jpg

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The suspense is killing us here...:taz:

How is their temperment as adults?

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

How is their temperment as adults?

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Our biggest female is friendly and gentle. Our sexuality mature (but not full grown) Male is a complete psycho. Our sub adult western female tries to eat everything in front of her.
Admittedly I do not handle them enough to give you a true example of their potential. I am confident if you had any of the three as a pet and handled them regularly they would be super easy going and inquisitive. The only issues I have seen with both aspedities (black-headed pythons and womas) is in their adolescence they are voracious feeders and try to eat everything in front of them.

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Checked before leaving this morning and everyone was still in their eggs. Wife just sent me this.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a8e53f11bb.jpg

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Bet you can't wait to get home! I love to watch snakes emerge, & it looks like you have a winner! (what's the prize for being first out?)

O haihttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f28e66d8d.jpg

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Originally Posted by enginee837

O haihttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f28e66d8d.jpg

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That face is so sweet!! Congratulations!!


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https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4f28e66d8d.jpg

What a stunning snake! :bow: And there's more! Can't wait... :carrot:

Bittersweet news on the rest of the clutch. I went to remove the hatchling from the egg box this morning and was met with the sour smell of dead eggs. It appears all 4 other babies passed at about the same point of development. None had absorbed the yolks and as humid as the egg boxes were the eggs appeared dried out on the inside.
I am waiting to hear back from Derek as to his opinion on what happened. I am leaning towards they were incubated a little too warm. I will update as I get more feedback from him. Anyhow the one survivor it a gorgeous specimen for sure. Gotta live BHP's, they keep you guessing for sure.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d858295995.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f408ec2c7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...18948f5bb9.jpg

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I am so sorry to hear about the DOAs, that's always a bummer but congrats on the successful breeding and the one lil trooper is gorgeous!

Great little stunning bhp, sorry about the others, such a Shame

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Oh that's too bad....so sorry! They almost made it, kudos for the trooper that hatched.

So after meeting with a local guy who has had much success breeding woma pythons and other various aussie snakes we think we figured out what went wrong with the bhp clutch. We believe white mold spores came in on the perlite I purchased from the garden store. Apparently sitting around all the other things in a garden store allows spores to migrate around. I also was incubating at the high range of what was recommended which increased the growth rate of the mold.
Egg boxes changed to diffuser over damp paper towel, temps lowered about 4 deg. Ready for the next clutch. Then this happened the other day, just a couple days after loosing the 4 black-headed python eggs, this girl dropped 8 healthy eggs. Not bad for a first time mom.
Fingers crossed this time around. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cf151d0db7.jpg

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First shed out of the way, on to feeding.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...07b59da075.jpg

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Congrats on the gorgeous high contrast baby! Sorry to hear about the rest of the clutch, but it sounds like you may have gotten your kinks ironed out. Good luck incubating the 2nd clutch.

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Originally Posted by enginee837

First shed out of the way, on to feeding.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...07b59da075.jpg

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He is so stunning, & so lucky! Let's hope no more problems with the next clutch...I'm so glad that first batch wasn't your only ones, that was just so sad.

It makes more sense that a mold* got to them: since one hatched out just fine it can't have been the temp./humidity, it was the same for all.

Did you actually find any "white mold"? -or smell it? I've not heard of that. And is there a way to remove it, to bake or freeze it out of the Perlite you use?

Since I have joined this site, this has been one thread I have throughly enjoyed reading. This species is one of the most beautiful snakes out there! So amazing looking. Sorry about some of your clutch, but as others have said, your next will be better. Congrats and that baby is a work of art!