Quote Originally Posted by anatess View Post
I'm super jealous. That pic with the babies' heads poking out between mom's coils are awesome!

Yeah, my maternal incubation is not as successful, but I think it is as successful as it could be for 60 days. I continued to feed every 10 days and she didn't miss a meal and continued maternal incubation all the way to 60 days when she just all of a sudden stopped. I moved the eggs to the emergency incubator and they're still not out of the egg at 68 days.

I had my temps at 86 and humidity at 80 while maternally incubating. But, my temp probe was underneath the egg box - in between the egg box and the sterilite container the whole thing was housed in. The egg box is sitting directly on top of the heated section of the container without any bedding between the box and the floor of the container. But, inside the box is about an inch of bedding which mama snake built a "crater" in while laying on her eggs. Because of mama being in the egg box, I didn't risk putting the temp probe wire inside the box and potentially strangling her. So, it could possibly be that the temperature inside the egg box was well under 86 which is probably the cause of the eggs hatching very late. First timer, what can I say.

If I ever attempt breeding again (which I don't think I will in the near future if I have anything to say about it - hubby decided this breeding thing) I will for sure go with maternal incubation again but I'll be sure to get a temp gun and a helix-type thermostat instead of the el-cheapo reptitherm that I have.

I have to say, Quiet Tempest is my favorite breeder gal. She inspired me with maternal incubation even if I had a cooler incubator as well. I think it was a more educational experience for my kids and it fit perfectly with our holistic lifestyle.

QT, congratulations on another year of successful breeding. I love looking at your pics! I'm praying that you get a pied baby this time. 52 days waiting... man, that is a long time.
That's really sweet of you to say. Thank you!

Maternal incubation is definitely a rewarding experience and I hope you enjoyed yours even if mom flaked out at the end. I think her leaving the eggs was a fluke and hopefully it won't happen this way if you maternally incubate clutches in the future. I think if you go this route next year this experience will help you be better prepared for anything/everything that goes along with it, too. If the temp was low, it could very well be that it's just going to take a while longer for babies to emerge. Just keep an eye on them and don't let them dry out.



I'm reeeeeeeally hoping for a pied of my own in this last clutch. Pieds are what got me interested in breeding balls in the first place and if I can produce one of my own I'll be ecstatic!