Maternal or Incubation?

[Annarose15]

Consider this. In the wild ball pythons obviouslly do it themselves. But how do we know what the success rate is? Obviouslly they do a pretty good job or else they would be extinct. There is also more ball pythons in the wild so the percentages are good. In the wild if some clutches dont hatch for whayever reason no big deal. In a captive collection if a few fail then its a big deal. So by incubating you stack the odds in your favor. Now ball pythons have the ability to regulate body temperature. This enables them to be very good mothers and can overcome some temp swings. But when you incubate you dont have to worry about it if your incubator is working right. So it all comes down to stacking the odds in your favor for a succesful outcome. Some people allow the females to maternally incubate and they have good success. Jm not saying not to do it but at the end of the day you have better chances doing artificial incubation

To to clarify on your statement, BPs can regulate body (and therefore egg) temp by adjusting their location along a temperature gradient, leaving the eggs to bask and return, or lifting and lowering the eggs over a hot spot. Without the proper heat being provided, BPs cannot achieve temps on their own (like all reptiles). I'm assuming these actions were what you were referring to, but I didn't want anyone to be confused.