To hatch or to sell?

[lawnchaircrisis]

So I have several questions I'd love some advice on.


I have an adult normal (~2000g) female and mojave male ($1000g) living together because they're absolutely inseparable. I've seen them locked together twice now, both times for over 24 hours, and now she appears to be ovulating. While I was initially super excited because I've been planning to try hatching out my own babies, I do have several concerns.

1. I have a hovabator incubator previously used for hatching chicks. Could I use this (provided I can get to stay at a stable 89 degrees)?

2. What do I do with the hatchlings? Since I don't have a hatchling rack, I'm a little concerned about keeping them warm and humid. My adults are in glass tanks, which is temporarily working until I save up for either boaphiles/vision cages. However since the babies will need to be in separate compartments, my best idea was shoe boxes in a large tank? This still doesn't seem to be a great idea

3. Every article I've read suggested feeding the hatchlings live pinky mice. I don't raise my own rats, and my "rat provider" is 35 minutes away and somewhat inconsistent. Would they start off on frozen/thawed, or will I need to be running over to get fresh ones every few days?

These are my main concerns.

My other option would be to wait until I am 100% sure she is gravid and sell her. I am leaning towards this, because I firmly believe in providing animals the bast care they can have, and if my situation isn't ideal, she deserves better. How much would I sell her for though, because what she would have is uncertain at best. I'm not even positive that the male is mojave?

Help please! I want to learn, but not at the cost of endangering the babies/eggs

[Rickys_Reptiles]

If you love the snakes, then I'd just dispose of the eggs once they are laid. Just my opinion though....

[Krynn]

If you arn't prepared for the hatchlings, then I recommend that you do not incubate the eggs.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

If you are not ready or prepared which you don't seem to be you can

A/Sell the female which will be stressful in her condition

B/ Destroy the eggs when they are laid

C/ Wholesale the hatchlings out of the egg (I said wholesale not individual)

As for this

living together because they're absolutely inseparable.

They are not, you are projecting YOUR emotions onto your snakes, so you may want to separate them from now on so you do not find yourself in the same situation again.

[RellesReptiles]

Unfortunately I have to agree with the previous replies.
It's not good for gravid females to travel (yes some can still lay successfully after being shipped but it's not recommended).
Unless you know somebody in the area who can take her or the hatchlings to ensure their health, it would be better if you just disposed of the eggs :/
Also, it's VERY important that you stop housing the snakes together. Snakes don't feel emotional connections to each other, so they are not actually inseparable except for when they're physically locked up... Housing together adds a lot of stress, and though they might look like they're "cuddling" they aren't actually fond of each other in that way. You also have unintended consequences like you ended up with here: a gravid female and potential hatchlings you aren't prepared for.
Again, look in the area to see if somebody local can assist you, or just wait until she lays and dispose of the eggs.

[lawnchaircrisis]

It just seems so wasteful and sad, like snake abortion. There is a big breeder somewhat close to me, maybe I'll see if she would be willing to incubate and hatch the babies for me and in trade she can have some of the hatchlings.

Since I was/am planning on selling the mother anyway, selling her gravid just made more sense

[Montypython696]

So I have several questions I'd love some advice on.


I have an adult normal (~2000g) female and mojave male ($1000g) living together because they're absolutely inseparable. I've seen them locked together twice now, both times for over 24 hours, and now she appears to be ovulating. While I was initially super excited because I've been planning to try hatching out my own babies, I do have several concerns.



My other option would be to wait until I am 100% sure she is gravid and sell her. I am leaning towards this, because I firmly believe in providing animals the bast care they can have, and if my situation isn't ideal, she deserves better. How much would I sell her for though, because what she would have is uncertain at best. I'm not even positive that the male is mojave?

Help please! I want to learn, but not at the cost of endangering the babies/eggs

I'm afraid I may come off as being mean, but.

Have you actually ever separated them? Ball Pythons may look like they are happy together in a cage, but they really aren't. They are solitary creatures who do not need interaction from the same species unless its for breeding purposes. In my opinion, and the opinion of others on these forums its a big no no to have them "live together" in the same cage, and can be quite unhealthy for both of them in the long run.

You state that you want to wait until you are sure she is 100% gravid and then sell her. Would you be selling the mojo as well, since it was stated they are "inseparable".

If you firmly believe in providing the best care they can have, then they should both be in separate cages to begin with, so these issues don't arise. Are you positive that the other snake is a male? If it turns out its a female, the locking you see is dominance behavior, and again is not healthy for either snake.

Again, not trying to sound rude or mean, just giving you my 2 cents.

[lawnchaircrisis]

And while I hate to argue with anyone on here, I've been raising many different species of animals for well over 15 years, and know animals exceptionally well. So when I say inseparable, I mean that they have been separated before and will stop at nothing to be in the same tank. They're in a 75 gallon tank and which get's separated in two for feedings, however they consistently break the barrier to the point where I gave up. If i pick him up to take him out, she attacks me. When I successfully get him out, he tries to climb back in. The only reason I haven't sold her previously is because when they've been in separate tanks they both kind of go crazy. So I've just figured that if I want to keep him, I'll have to suck it up and deal with her.

Also, definitely a male/female pair. They are both proven she has successfully laid eggs before (sired by him). The only reason I bought the pair was because the guy didn't know how to feed them and they were starving

[Rickys_Reptiles]

And while I hate to argue with anyone on here, I've been raising many different species of animals for well over 15 years, and know animals exceptionally well. So when I say inseparable, I mean that they have been separated before and will stop at nothing to be in the same tank. They're in a 75 gallon tank and which get's separated in two for feedings, however they consistently break the barrier to the point where I gave up. If i pick him up to take him out, she attacks me. When I successfully get him out, he tries to climb back in.

Ok....

Goodluck making your decision.

[RellesReptiles]

And while I hate to argue with anyone on here, I've been raising many different species of animals for well over 15 years, and know animals exceptionally well. So when I say inseparable, I mean that they have been separated before and will stop at nothing to be in the same tank. They're in a 75 gallon tank and which get's separated in two for feedings, however they consistently break the barrier to the point where I gave up. If i pick him up to take him out, she attacks me. When I successfully get him out, he tries to climb back in. The only reason I haven't sold her previously is because when they've been in separate tanks they both kind of go crazy. So I've just figured that if I want to keep him, I'll have to suck it up and deal with her.

Also, definitely a male/female pair. They are both proven she has successfully laid eggs before (sired by him). The only reason I bought the pair was because the guy didn't know how to feed them and they were starving

They break the barrier more likely because they are trying to have more space to explore, or trying to escape the actual tank.
They are also more than likely only acting like that because of a breeding response, the males can get frustrated and the females can be more defensive when they are being bred/being exposed to males. Males should be cycled regularly so they don't exhaust themselves or refuse meals for too long, and ESPECIALLY should not be kept year round with a female...

They shouldn't be homed together in one tank, even with a barrier. Give them time to settle in separate tanks. Make sure they don't have each others' smell on them, and make sure they have proper hides...

And if you don't want to have to do snake abortions, you should probably make sure to practice snake birth control by keeping them apart. They will breed as long as they are kept together.