need help Ball python has eggs!!!

[stratus_020202]

With the description of your tank I would say your chances of success letting the female try to incubate them is about zero. I would just get an incubator if you are really wanting these eggs to survive. Or you could easily build an incubator with a small cooler, heatpad, and on/off type thermostat (proportional would be better but they are more $ then you probably want to spend). Probably could do it for less than $40 for everything.

I don't know. I think with the op's inexperience it would be better to just let mom do it. As long as he can get humidity under control, and heat, she shouldn't have any trouble.

[J.Vandegrift]

I don't know. I think with the op's inexperience it would be better to just let mom do it. As long as he can get humidity under control, and heat, she shouldn't have any trouble.

Problem is, in the cage he describes that may be close to impossible. With an incubator you set it up right and you are good until thay hatch. Much less to worry about.

[zman]

Problem is, in the cage he describes that may be close to impossible. With an incubator you set it up right and you are good until thay hatch. Much less to worry about.

thank you for your concern, it is a reg aquariem all glass screen top ,

[Quiet Tempest]

i ask a lady at a pet store she seemed up to date with info on breeding she it is fine for her to hatch the eggs herself , the male seems fine , he just keeps his distance , he seems like he knows his boundrires with her at this time

Pet store employees are usually not very good sources of information. This isn't always the case, but the worst advice I've heard has almost always come from the mouth of an ignorant pet store employee.

Your female could maternally incubate, but not in that enclosure in its current state. Glass aquariums aren't ideal for keeping balls because it's a constant battle to keep the humidity at comfortable levels for the snake. When I maternally incubated last year, my female was kept in a 40g breeder tank but she laid her eggs in a laybox lined with moistened sphagnum moss (31qt sterilite tub with a hole cut in the lid). Having the male sharing the enclosure isn't going to help, either. It's one thing to be a wild snake sharing a den in the wild where a nuisance neighbor could be driven out but in the confines of a cage, it will only cause undue stress for both snakes if he sticks around while she's brooding.

Your best bet will be to get an incubator up and running and get the eggs into it as soon as possible.

[zman]

Pet store employees are usually not very good sources of information. This isn't always the case, but the worst advice I've heard has almost always come from the mouth of an ignorant pet store employee.

Your female could maternally incubate, but not in that enclosure in its current state. Glass aquariums aren't ideal for keeping balls because it's a constant battle to keep the humidity at comfortable levels for the snake. When I maternally incubated last year, my female was kept in a 40g breeder tank but she laid her eggs in a laybox lined with moistened sphagnum moss (31qt sterilite tub with a hole cut in the lid). Having the male sharing the enclosure isn't going to help, either. It's one thing to be a wild snake sharing a den in the wild where a nuisance neighbor could be driven out but in the confines of a cage, it will only cause undue stress for both snakes if he sticks around while she's brooding.

Your best bet will be to get an incubator up and running and get the eggs into it as soon as possible.

what is a breeder tank , i had a bad experiance with a incubator tonite , got it at tractor suppley 40 $ little giant , what a pos

[zman]

what is a breeder tank , i had a bad experiance with a incubator tonite , got it at tractor suppley 40 $ little giant , what a pos

[zman]

i was thinking about putting vermiculite underneth the eggs , to help the eggs out , then have the mother go back on and incubate them , untill i can get a better incubator ,

[qinw]

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Sphagnum-Moss...item56382f786a

can this moss be put into the lay box?

[stratus_020202]

i was thinking about putting vermiculite underneth the eggs , to help the eggs out , then have the mother go back on and incubate them , untill i can get a better incubator ,

Just be really careful with that. Too much moisture and the eggs will go bad. To little moisture and the eggs will go bad. I would get some sort of grating to keep the eggs off the vermeculite. But still use it to incease your himidity. I don't think it will hurt the mom, but you don't want her sitting in too much wetness.

[Dusty]

I think getting a few pictures of your set up will help us a lot.

Although some will not agree with the way you may have things set up or how you want to deal with your female and her clutch, if we had pictures it would help us to better understand the layout of your set up so that better information can be given.

Simple steps in changing the set up with little disturbance to the female can make a world of difference to her having a viable clutch in the end.

But I will agree you need to get the male out so there is less stress for both snakes and less chance of the eggs getting damaged.

*** without knowing the set up my 2 cents would be***

get some newspaper and tent it over her, then misting her cage a couple times a day (the newspaper will help to stop the eggs from getting wet) and maybe adding a second water bowl with a bubble stone (like used for fish tanks) to help bump the humidity up.

lastly read, read, read, everything you can find about breeding snakes and how to deal with the eggs and the babies once they hatch.

ASK lots of questions on things you may not understand about what is happening now and as things go along.

Best of luck to you with this little surprised gift she has given you.