Got my first clutch this morning!

I guess it's as good a time as any to try being active on this forum again, haha.

My female Spider just laid a seven egg clutch this morning and I'm super excited about finally having eggs to put in the cooker! Here's some pictures from the whole process from ovulation to the actual laying process.

Ovulated around the first week of January.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/1...0bc72994_b.jpg
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2832/1...039b5581_b.jpg

Few weeks gravid.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3818/1...aa23b4dc_b.jpg

Took this earlier in the week, she was looking like she was looking about ready to blow for a couple of days.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7450/1...47e2a5d8_b.jpg

Around 7am this morning, she already has most of the eggs out asides from two.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/1...3cd5cb05_b.jpg

Couple hours ago, all the eggs are out by now and she was very protective over them.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/1...550ca59e_b.jpg

After taking her off the clutch I decided to give her a soak so I could rinse some of the egg smell off and also get her rehydrated. She was talking huge gulps of water right before I took the picture.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7391/1...b360f959_b.jpg

Eggs before they went in the incubator. They're pretty snowflaked but have really great veins (asides from the one on the bottom right but I'm going to give it a shot anyway).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7293/1...79332877_b.jpg

Mom's all washed off and looking super empty! Thinking she'll be ready for her first meal in 140+ days next week? :rolleyes:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2848/1...c179b2ed_b.jpg

And for kicks, here's a pic of dad!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3671/1...69a94108_b.jpg

I'll probably continue to update this thread with any developments with the clutch but how do you guys think I did for my first time around? :P

You handle it like a pro, congrats on your first clutch.

Now come the worse part, the WAIT ;)


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That wait is going to be the death of me! It's only a few hours in and I'm already feeling impatient, hah.

Good luck with the eggs. Keep us updated.

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Very nice, please keep us updated.:)

Vn! What genes are the father? We had our spider girl ovulate recently, paired w a Lesser:)


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Good luck with the eggs. Dad looks awesome great coloring

Keep this thread update boss...


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Originally Posted by kikkimea

Vn! What genes are the father? We had our spider girl ovulate recently, paired w a Lesser:)


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He's just a very bright and bandy Lesser that I stumbled upon on CL a couple of years ago.
And whohoo, Lesser Bees!

Omg what a beautiful momma. The pic of her with her belly I'm the air is so funny looking and she looked so cute wrapped around her eggs :) keep us updated on the clutch both momma and dad are gorgeous so the babies are going to come out killer :D


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Originally Posted by AlexisFitzy

Omg what a beautiful momma. The pic of her with her belly I'm the air is so funny looking and she looked so cute wrapped around her eggs :) keep us updated on the clutch both momma and dad are gorgeous so the babies are going to come out killer :D


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She was creating a lot of funky pretzel and L-shapes the day before laying to get the eggs into position! It was pretty silly looking but also kind of anxiety-inducing because I was half convinced she was egg bound for a while. She did a very good job in the end though and was super duper unhappy about me trying to relive her of her motherly duties. :D

And thank you! I'm really excited to see the results of this clutch because I'm hoping that dad's going to produce some bandy-looking kids, I don't really think he's go any extra genes in him but I definitely believe in selective breeding to elevate certain appearances.

Congrats! Mom and Dad are both pretty!

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Originally Posted by MisterKyte

He's just a very bright and bandy Lesser that I stumbled upon on CL a couple of years ago.
And whohoo, Lesser Bees!

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Yeah, that's why i asked, he looks really cool!
Very nice Lesser Bee babies incoming! And your whohoo is seconded! :gj:
Will follow this for a baby update later!


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What did you use to mark the eggs?

I just used a sharpie.

Thank you and best of luck!

Beautiful pair! Can't wait to see the little fellows when they hatch!


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Here's a question and a picture for you all:
Eggs are incubating at 89 which is good but I've noticed that they seem kind of dry so I'm wondering if there's a set humidity level I should be aiming for? I was thinking about soaking some sphagnum moss and adding it in but I don't know if that'd be the ideal way to keep everything hydrated.

Also candling picture. The veins look so magical.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/230bd500a...whmo1_1280.png

I don't think u can go "too much humidity" with ball python eggs.... As long as u keep the eggs dry, u should be good.... ✌️


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Originally Posted by RuGGeR

I don't think u can go "too much humidity" with ball python eggs.... As long as u keep the eggs dry, u should be good.... ✌️


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you can if the eggs are touching the medium.


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You should have at least 95% in the eggbox at all times from what i've been told, but when you have the eggs buried in the substrate you have to be careful with the eggs getting wet.
If the walls of the eggbox have condensation you're fine.
Get a light diffuser to put the eggs on, then you can soak the substrate all you want and should have almost 100%. Just my two cents i've picked up from many hours of research :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

you can if the eggs are touching the medium.

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Exactly. High humidity, but not wet eggs.
You should have around 95% in the eggbox from what i've been told, but when you have the eggs buried in the substrate you have to be careful with the eggs getting wet.
If the walls of the eggbox have condensation you're fine, but the substrate should not feel wet.
If you followed the mixing instructions and have 89 F you should be fine, but use a hygrometer just in case.
Or get a light diffuser to put the eggs on, then you can soak the substrate all you want and should have no problem. Just my two cents i've picked up from hours of research :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

you can if the eggs are touching the medium.


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Just what I am trying to say boss.. ✌️


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Hmn, I might pick up a light diffuser this weekend then (should have opted for substrateless from the beginning now that I think about it) because these puppies are definitely in the substrate and the hydrometer has been reading 70% (Although I'm starting to suspect it's broken because I took it out of the egg box and it continued to read 70% even after like five hours. /: )

How wet would you guys say is too wet for the substrate because I didn't really have instructions to follow, I just read that the perlite should be moist but not have any water leak out when you squeeze it but now I'm worried that it may be too wet for the eggs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MisterKyte

Hmn, I might pick up a light diffuser this weekend then (should have opted for substrateless from the beginning now that I think about it) because these puppies are definitely in the substrate and the hydrometer has been reading 70% (Although I'm starting to suspect it's broken because I took it out of the egg box and it continued to read 70% even after like five hours. /: )

How wet would you guys say is too wet for the substrate because I didn't really have instructions to follow, I just read that the perlite should be moist but not have any water leak out when you squeeze it but now I'm worried that it may be too wet for the eggs.

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Your hygrometer probably needs a calibration. Do the salt test. (google hygrometer salt test)
You should mix the substrate and water with a ratio 1:1 by weight. If your substrate weighs 250 g then you measure up 250 g water and mix it together for a couple of minutes..
No water should drip when you squeeze it.
Just follow the 1:1 by weight ratio and calibrate your hygrometer. :gj:

But if you're going for a diffuser, then the mixing doesn't matter, you can have really wet substrate as long as the eggs aren't affected..
You should probably have a date with Google and Youtube ;)

How's it going? Did the 7th egg survive?

Been kind of lazy about getting an update here (Oops) but so far things are chugging along. Egg #7 is doing fine but I had a couple on the pile that we getting dripped on and started molding a little, ended up putting some liquid bandaid over the areas and the mold has since stopped growing, but other than that, it's been pretty uneventful!

Three eggs started pipping this morning at day 60 of incubation! I went and snipped the other four and it looks like I've got three normals, two Spiders, a Lesser, and a Lesser Bee. Not too bad on the odds there but I I had my fingers crossed for more Lesser things.
https://31.media.tumblr.com/5a8ec10c...whmo1_1280.png

Even my moldy egg made it and everyone looks pretty healthy so far (which I'm glad for because it was the Lesser).
https://24.media.tumblr.com/5eafb87b...whmo1_1280.png
https://24.media.tumblr.com/708122a7...whmo2_1280.png

And the Lesser Bee! Can't wait to see this kid out of the egg.
https://31.media.tumblr.com/f7f1051b...whmo2_1280.png

Congrats! can't wait to see them out of the eggs :gj::gj:

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Originally Posted by Wes

Congrats! can't wait to see them out of the eggs :gj::gj:

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Neither can I!!!

Congrats! Make sure to keep us updated

Congrats! I love seeing pictures of babies hatching!

First of the hatchlings are out, both probing as female! Also unfortunately for me, one of the "Spiders" turned out to be a normal so I have four normals, one Spider, one Lesser, and one Lesser Bee. Oh well, better luck next time.
https://31.media.tumblr.com/04c3374a...whmo2_1280.png
https://31.media.tumblr.com/5f05f997...whmo1_1280.png

I followed these over on Tumblr but just wanted to say congrats again. Cato and Phoebe are both top notch examples of their morphs and I've taken to comparing others to them as a judge of quality, tbh. I'm sure even those normals will be lookers :)

Ah, thanks for the compliments. Glad to see my critters have some fans. ^^
So far the normal that has come out looks pretty nice, little reduced, little granitey. Hopefully will make a great pet for someone!