Quote Originally Posted by Kymberli View Post
To the OP (or anyone else who's tried both ways of incubation),

do you find it easier to allow maternal incubation? Just curious, I'm not looking for the most convenient way to breed, I'd rather do what's best for the clutch.
I've incubated jungle carpet eggs artificially but every ball python clutch I've had has been left with the mothers. I like the ease of maternal incubation and feel that the eggs have a better chance of survival with their mother rather than in an incubator. I have lost eggs in an incubator but have yet to lose any that remain with their mother. I'm hesitant to use incubators with pythons unless it's absolutely necessary. I read a study that concluded that artificially incubated eggs are more likely to suffer yolk dessication (solidified yolk is left in the egg at hatching) whereas maternally incubated eggs lose less water during the incubation period and tend to result in larger, more active neonates at hatching. The study definitely bolsters my opinion of maternal incubation.

http://www.rcreptiles.com/articles/w...their-eggs.pdf


It's entirely up to the keeper what method to use once you've got eggs, but for me this is the better choice.