Hatch date from ovulation rather than date laid

[rlditmars]

I have read that ball python eggs hatch 105 days from the date of ovulation. The way the remark read, it seemed irrespective of the date in which the eggs were laid. Knowing that there is considerable variances in how many days after pre-lay shed that an individual will deposit eggs, has anyone tracked this over a large enough sample size to validate or nullify. I have only hatched a couple clutches so my sample size is too small to count as proof. However, it has been on the nose for me.

If this is correct I guess someone might experience a female that lays on day 46 and coupled with the 16 or so days before pre-lay shed, would also see an incubation duration with days numbered in the 40's.

Would like to hear from members who have hatched and tracked dozens of clutches and kept the data on this.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Family Jewels]

I've always counted from the day the eggs were laid. In 15 years, every clutch has hatched within a window of 54-59 days with the overwhelming majority hatching on day 56. I've never had a single egg fall outside this range. Every time I try to track my snakes by ovulation, post ovulation shed, etc. I end up with too much variation and it causes me completely unnecessary stress. I would never cut an egg based on the mother's (probably inaccurate) ovulation date.

[rlditmars]

I've always counted from the day the eggs were laid. In 15 years, every clutch has hatched within a window of 54-59 days with the overwhelming majority hatching on day 56. I've never had a single egg fall outside this range. Every time I try to track my snakes by ovulation, post ovulation shed, etc. I end up with too much variation and it causes me completely unnecessary stress. I would never cut an egg based on the mother's (probably inaccurate) ovulation date.

I appreciate your feedback. I don't cut so that would not be an issue. My two clutches have also hatched on day 56 from the lay date, but consequently it was also 105 days from the ovulation. As I said, my sample size is too small to be any kind of confirmation, but it did raise the question. You stated your hatches were all between day 54 and 59 which is a 5 day window. You said you had a variation from the ovulation date. Was it a greater spread than 5 days? This is just pure curiosity on my part. I am just trying to see if anyone else had tracked from the ovulation date with enough instances to draw some solid conclusions, even if the conclusion is that there is no correlation to the ovulation date.