Help! Eggs out of no where!

[Skyrivers]

I was thinking about getting a normal or 2 to prove out genetics of future clutches. Some breeders do this. Not ready right now but one day I do see in the future. Normal are desired from time to time. You will not likely make money off of them. I would love to incubate a clutch. I am at lest a year away from my first clutch. I can wait but is so exciting. So much preparation and careful selection of potential breeding. So many variables that it wonderful to learn and grow so much along the way. If money is an issue for you I would be talking to a local breeder that might take them off your hands. I see no reason to kill them. Letting mama take care of the eggs is a joy for her. She has worked so hard to produce them. I would separate the male and keep a close eye on husbandry. You need to invest $$ either way to keep everyone healthy. Are you willing and prepared to do so? If yes then work hard to do it correctly. If not then now is the time to act to cull the eggs before they get to far along. Make a decision and quickly and make a healthy one.

[Ax01]

Should I
A) Leave them all alone and let her nest them and hope the male stays nice.
B) Remove/Find temp home for male and let her nest them.
C) Make myself a makeshift incubator and steal the eggs to try and save.
D) Some better plan?
E) Kick myself for being stupid

i think options D and E.

anyway reading through this thread, it seemed like u were set on keeping the eggs from the beginning. i hope u learn, get better immediately and wish u the best.

[Viper0hr]

Ok, first off thanks to everyone who replied, even those who seem to think I mistreat my animals, I do understand your point and position even if I think you came off a little harsh, which is fine. Regardless thanks for taking the time to reply and for any options/advice, it is appreciated.

I just want to say first, that when I received these snakes it was from someone who was unable to give them to anyone else after a week on CL and FB and was moving from Florida to Washington that following day (She was packing the last of the house as I arrived to pick them up), it was basically a "or else they will be wild released" sort of situation and I was told they were supposed to be the same gender by the owner who had owned both since they were babies, and I even asked here as well as local for issues housing together and was told that while it was not common and is best to separate asap, that so long as resources and space were ok and there was no "fighting" for better spots or resources that there should be little issue until they can be separated, so I chose to provide them with with bigger/better inner cage hides and things while I can, I spent $100 on the snakes and cage/setup from the owner and ended up spending $150+ the following week just upgrading the setup and adding a herpstate and proper temp/humidity readers since the original heat pad was UNREGULATED. I know and understand that separation is the best option and am not making excuses, just explaining my position on the issue and why I did what I did, and that I knew of the possibility for issues, of which there were none I have seen until the eggs. I by no means would want any harm at all to come to any animal I own if possible. I mainly found it extremely insulting that someone strongly implied that I cannot even provide food for my snakes any therefore should not have them (I have had a thriving small mouse colony since getting them and have plenty of frozen mice stored).
I am not a huge fan of rack systems due to lack of experience with them, and have passed on the opportunities to buy local made 4x2x2 enclosures to hopefully buy quality PVC ones instead when possible, which is why i neglected to do so until now, which is wholly my responsibility.

So anyways, to the issue at hand.
I have contacted a few people local through friends and am seeing if there is a breeder local who would want the eggs for free to keep and raise if possible, if there is no one by tomorrow I will remove and freeze the eggs and then dispose of them. As I said before I would have kept them if possible, but mainly because I do not want any eggs/life to go to waste if I can help it, but agree the best option is to dispose of them if I am unable to find them a home.
A good friend also asked if he could house the male at his home possibly, he has a nice 55+ gallon tank that would be nice for the male, he is a great pet owner and loves his animals like family and has and has had reptiles, so I trust him to take care of the snake, and most likely will be re homing the male there for the future.


If I understand correctly, the entire cage should be cleaned after the eggs removed to be of the scent, and the female should be soaked, anything else recommended?


Once again, thanks to those who replied, even the mean ones (joke), sorry for any wraith or anger that may have occurred at my stupidity, I entered owning my snakes with minimum knowledge and a goal to just provide my pets with as good a life as I can, and if I have to get yelled at on a forum for my mistakes, at least I will try and learn from them.

[wolfy-hound]

My advice is to freeze the eggs.

You already stated you didn't have the money to set a second cage up. Then you go on to say you could put together a incubator and a rack for the multiple possible babies.

I know you mentioned the $450 cage you wanted but it cost much less to get a tub and set it up properly(see our sticky post on setting up a tub enclosure) to get the snakes housed separately.

When you "thought" the female was gravid, you didn't plan on what to do. Waiting until there is an issue makes everything an emergency.

[Viper0hr]

My advice is to freeze the eggs.

You already stated you didn't have the money to set a second cage up. Then you go on to say you could put together a incubator and a rack for the multiple possible babies.

I know you mentioned the $450 cage you wanted but it cost much less to get a tub and set it up properly(see our sticky post on setting up a tub enclosure) to get the snakes housed separately.

When you "thought" the female was gravid, you didn't plan on what to do. Waiting until there is an issue makes everything an emergency.

I have had the money to make up a second cage before and do now, my goal was to buy 2 matching stackable PVC cages so that I would not have to upgrade or replace them again, which is where the $450 price came from and I was not financially secure enough to spend that + what extras I would need to setup both at the same time and feel I had enough "fall back" funds left over. I personally do not like racks, but understand that they are a good option, and could throw one together from my herp stuff in an hour or 2 if I really needed to.
As for the female being gravid, I was told they were males, and by the time I noticed that she had a bulge she was already pregnant because she laid the eggs within a week or 2.

Above your post was my response to the thread anyways, I am looking for someone to take the eggs if they want them for free, if not will freeze them, and the male is being rehomed for now.

If I could edit the original post I would add my response to the bottom of the 1st one so people could see it.

[Ax01]

I have had the money to make up a second cage before and do now, my goal was to buy 2 matching stackable PVC cages so that I would not have to upgrade or replace them again, which is where the $450 price came from and I was not financially secure enough to spend that + what extras I would need to setup both at the same time and feel I had enough "fall back" funds left over. I personally do not like racks, but understand that they are a good option, and could throw one together from my herp stuff in an hour or 2 if I really needed to.
As for the female being gravid, I was told they were males, and by the time I noticed that she had a bulge she was already pregnant because she laid the eggs within a week or 2.

Above your post was my response to the thread anyways, I am looking for someone to take the eggs if they want them for free, if not will freeze them, and the male is being rehomed for now.

If I could edit the original post I would add my response to the bottom of the 1st one so people could see it.

alotta times it's not what u like, but what's best your your animals. u could have put your spare heatpad and herpstat towards a simple sterilite tub until u had $450 for your ideal enclosures. even if u were told they were both boy BP's and believed that, u must have noticed them coiled together in the year u had them. that's not good. that means they are either competing for space or making babies.

u mention your female is the smaller BP. how big is she? producing eggs can take alot out of her. i hope she will be fine.

[Viper0hr]

Hindsight 20/20 a simple rack setup would have been a good alternative, and still can be for the future, but in the end it's just a shouldof couldof for me sadly.
I have not seen them coil in a very long time, as in 6+ months, when I got them there was only one hide and a half log, which I quickly fixed into multiple hides on each side, they have been an overall event-less pair living together until this, which is one reason I think I was slow to separate.

The female was in the 1300s last checked, it is about 1/4 or 1/5 smaller than the big one. I have left her alone to not stress her, but when checked she looked fine and was active (As much as she could curling a clutch) lifting up and watching me, there was no blood/discharge/anything bad noticeable and the eggs all looks very healthy.

[tttaylorrr]

Once again, thanks to those who replied, even the mean ones (joke), sorry for any wraith or anger that may have occurred at my stupidity, I entered owning my snakes with minimum knowledge and a goal to just provide my pets with as good a life as I can, and if I have to get yelled at on a forum for my mistakes, at least I will try and learn from them.

hey i was one of the meanies. im happy you're back and replying, and i'm glad you're looking into options for the eggs and are being so open to the criticism. that alone means you're already better than you were before. we and your snakes thank you!!!

we all just want you to learn and grow, but most importantly do right by your animals! we care about the animals over any feelings we or anyone else has, which is why we can become upset at posts like this.

i don't think you're neglecting your animals or anything; you just made dumb mistakes that were easily prevented and you knew better. your animals are the ones that suffer from your mistakes, not you: remember this.

please keep us posted on the eggs and your pets! I really hope you heed the advice we gave and separate those snakes asap!

[Viper0hr]

hey i was one of the meanies. im happy you're back and replying, and i'm glad you're looking into options for the eggs and are being so open to the criticism. that alone means you're already better than you were before. we and your snakes thank you!!!

we all just want you to learn and grow, but most importantly do right by your animals! we care about the animals over any feelings we or anyone else has, which is why we can become upset at posts like this.

i don't think you're neglecting your animals or anything; you just made dumb mistakes that were easily prevented and you knew better. your animals are the ones that suffer from your mistakes, not you: remember this.

please keep us posted on the eggs and your pets! I really hope you heed the advice we gave and separate those snakes asap!

Thanks! I can take people being harsh, so long as it's not for nothing, and I for sure understand where people here came from.

I am set to start a really good paying job soon, and have my friend willing to house the other snake for now, so either way the situation is going to improve.

I will be sure to post with what happens, fingers crossed on finding the eggs a local home, I even messaged a local shop I have bought from a few times and asked if they knew anyone.

[Kcl]

It sounds to me like you've planned out a solid path forward - glad to hear it. Also, tubs, particularly for a single snake, really don't have to be the minimalistic route that people with a larger number of ball pythons have. Mine, which I used for my ball python until I upgraded him to his pvc enclosure, is very oversized compared to the recommended and has a removable wooden perch for climbing in addition to all the fake foliage and such (cheaply and easily made with a wooden dowel and eye hooks). With a little creativity, it's a good option for even those who want to give a more complex set-up but are waiting on making the big investments for whatever reason.