I'm new without a clue about snake eggs, help!

She was joking about the eating the snake thing.

Some poeple should take a test before they can own ball pythons

I'm all for snakes being loved, I love my snakes. They give me something to care for and it fulfills something in me thats purely human; an emotional connection yes, but a one way emotional connection. Love them, baby them, talk to them in stupid voices if it makes you happy; But when it comes to the facts they do not have emotions. Not saying all animals don't express emotions but snakes are not one of those animals. Your belief that these snakes have these emotoins is just endagering their welfare. We may be close minded about housing snakes together but thats b/c the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

I would like to hear your reasons for keeping them together, aside from the human mannerisms you've assigned them? If you can't think of any then all the reasons not to keep them together win and you should separate them.

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Originally Posted by bpkid

She was joking about the eating the snake thing.

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LOL, how did i not catch that!

......if you insist on housing the pair together, here is my advice:

1. Take the eggs out and incubate at 89 deg.

2. Take both the male and female out of the enclosure. Give them each a 'bath' and clean the enclosure reallly really good. The egg 'smell' causes female ball pythons to instinctually go 'off feed' so you want to get that smell and the eggs out ASAP so they will get feeding again.

3. Get your female feeding again as quick as possible. Since she just layed eggs she has probably lost a fair amount of weight. If you can not get her back to a healthy size and continue to house the two together, chances are that they will breed again....which can be deadly for a underweight female.

4. Do away with the night drop for a while. Night drops are useful only in simulating breeding season. A night drop coupled with the stress of being housed together and just laying eggs is just asking for a respiratory infection.

5. Do a little reading online. The problem with most snake 'care' with vets and some keepers is that they go back on the 'old ways'...5-10 years ago no one would have told you anything about housing two snakes together. Most books that were written even state that it is ok. However, since more people have begun keeping snakes, our knowledge base has been improved. Alot of things are changing in the reptile world since more and more people are keeping these wonderful animals.....the problem is many of us hobbiest and professional breeders are far beyond most vets and even some zoos on the most recent husbandry and even reptile keeping technology. We have individual members on this site that keep hundreds of reptiles and have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in their collections....we only want is best for the animals. So, always keep an open mind when suggestions are made.

Wow I take it she has never scene that one photo of the boa and the bp that shared the same cage. 2 snakes in one cage, not good for many reasons. Hope the eggs at least turn out....but if the do what happens to the babies? Do they all get to live together?

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Originally Posted by Wild Bill

What you call "cuddling" is competetion for the heat.

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Didn't I say this before in another thread awhile back and then very rudely get told I was wrong (not by you Bill)?

first if you werent planning on this till next year then your female could easily have died if she was not heavy enough(1200 grams MINIMUM but id go with 1500) so you are probably very lucky that your female didnt die.

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Originally Posted by JenHarrison

Didn't I say this before in another thread awhile back and then very rudely get told I was wrong (not by you Bill)?

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??? What thread was that? I don't think anyone here would have disagreed with you if you stated snakes were not cuddling for pleasure...unless someone just misread what you wrote. :confuzd:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?p=379716

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Originally Posted by JenHarrison

...they will be forced to share heat/hiding places. The reason they huddle together is because they both want to be in that particular spot at the same time, and are forced to tolerate each other in order to stay there.

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Originally Posted by a particular someone

You should get YOUR facts straight before sharing your "expertise". The biggest concern with snakes sharing an enclosure is not that they will be forced to share heat/hiding places. How about the biggest concern being passing of disease? The huddling together is one snake showing dominance over the other not them fighting for heat.

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Well, I'm pretty sure they didn't mean to come off rude.