Hey all--I'm new here and I've searched in several areas, to include the entire internet (well, almost) regarding this problem, so I am reaching out for help.

I have an adult female ball python that I've had for a year. I have never let her near any other snakes, let alone tried to mate her. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the animal room Monday and found 8 (!) EGGS in her tank!!

I candled them all and am certain I have at least one fertile egg (very veiny). My problem is that I tried to let her incubate the eggs for the first 2 days, and she hasn't touched them. I even grouped them all together under her favorite basking lamp, and still nothing. So I put a heating pad under them and set it on low so they would be getting some warmth. She isn't heating up and transferring her heat to the eggs, she appears completely apathetic towards them. ???

So I went ahead and purchased an incubator, in which they are sitting at approximately 88-89 degrees farenheit with 70% or higher humidity, and already the larger eggs are starting to dimple. I also noticed some gnats in the incubator yesterday.

I read somewhere that candling works best with BP eggs if they're given a few days to incubate, so I'm not sure if I should try again, as some eggs are large and white, and others are smaller and yellow.

I'm thrilled and terrified, is there any reason she may be completely uninterested in her babies?

Thanks so much in advance, everyone!!