What would be less stressful to my ball python?

[MissLovesSnakes]

First of all, I have no plans of incubating my ball pythons slugs just in case.

I just want to figure out what would be less stressful for her: taking the eggs away immediately or letting her sit on them until supposed hatching time.

When I was younger, my family had a pair of love birds. We were told that if they weren't given a private nesting box (rather than at the bottom of their cage), there was no chance of hatchlings. Well wouldn't you know they layed eggs & they hatched!

Anyways the point is, those love birds spent the rest of they're lives laying eggs & sitting on them & they became neurotic, started trying to pluck out their feathers etc (after the first hatchlings a bird vet advised us to replace the eggs with fake or empty eggs so we wouldn't end up with more birds).

[alan12013]

I just want to comment on this out of conversational interest mostly so to be clear I do not have factual answers. I do know that after egg laying the BPs will use their bodies to incubate the eggs and the process isn't easy on them from what I understand. It doesn't seem like an easy process. She will still eat while she lays on them but preferably smaller meals. I would remove the dudds and just carry on.

[brock lesser]

Take the eggs, wash her and the tub thoroughly.
Put the eggs in your bator and wait.
maternal incubation is tough unless your temperature
and humidity is spot on.
Less stressful to take the eggs asap.

[CptJack]

We're talking slugs, not fertile eggs.

I'd probably take them out, wash the tub and put her back as soon as possible.

[MrLang]

Take them, wash her and the tub, and get her back on food. What's stressful is when they don't eat for 2 months while incubating eggs

[bcr229]

Take them, wash her and the tub, and get her back on food. What's stressful is when they don't eat for 2 months while incubating eggs

QFT

I've also found it easier to have a few cleaned and disinfected tubs prepped and ready to go, especially when doing everything myself. The eggs go into incubator, the dam gets cleaned and put in a clean tub, and I can clean up her old tub later.