Female stopped eating - Sign of building or on the road to ovulation?

[Seven-Thirty]

So I'll attempt to be brief. My Albino Cinnamon has been paired around... 3 times total over the past few months. I've palpated and gotten around 6 follicles at around, what I assume to be 25-35mm. She has started to go off feed around 3 weeks ago and hasn't been interested in food since. I paired her last week for a third pairing and she was locked for around 24 hours.

Before while she was still eating she was cool seeking, bowl wrapping, and soaking in her water bowl but when she went off feed she's been hanging out on the warm side. I believe I missed an ovulation nor do I think she has ovulated.

tl;dr:

Female was pounding food and cool seeking.
Stopped eating three weeks ago and is now on the warm side.
Still has around 25-35mm follicles based off palpation.
Been paired 3 times over the past 4 months with the most recent lock happening last week.


Is she still building or is she on her way to absorption? According to most ball python breeding charts, they should start heat seeking after ovulation but yeah... I understand that not everything is cut and dry but I'm curious as to what is going on.

Thanks in advance!

[Seven-Thirty]

Okay so I went to check on her again today and I think she's ovulating? Or at least close to it. I didn't want to disturb her much but this is what she looked like. Im still not sure what I'm looking for when it comes to ovulations but she does look like she's full of big follicles at the very least.

[kxr]

I'm no expert but if that was my animal I'd say she was ovulating


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[JodanOrNoDan]

You have eggs on the way. Congrats!

[Seven-Thirty]

Oh damn, I'm giddy now. Thanks guys

What should I be preparing for besides an incubator? I'm actually still debating on whether to maternal or not. Im personally leaning towards maternal because I do not want to mess up my first clutch and I figure a ball python is more suited to that task than I am. She already averages at around 89F and humidity is near 99% without being too damp thanks to the coconut so that should be ideal for maternal incubation I think?

[JodanOrNoDan]

Oh damn, I'm giddy now. Thanks guys

What should I be preparing for besides an incubator? I'm actually still debating on whether to maternal or not. Im personally leaning towards maternal because I do not want to mess up my first clutch and I figure a ball python is more suited to that task than I am. She already averages at around 89F and humidity is near 99% without being too damp thanks to the coconut so that should be ideal for maternal incubation I think?

Honestly, in my opinion the human can be better at it than the snake. You should also factor in what your plans are. If you want to attempt breeding again next season, you need to get her off the eggs so she starts eating again. If you are like me and believe there is the possibility of gold in every egg you won't want to bet on how good a mother she is.

On the other hand, if this is a learning experience for you and you want to see how they do it naturally go for it if you think you can keep the environment right. I would be ready to pull her off the eggs if things start to go south. Sometimes there are rollouts that are good and you may have to incubate anyway to save the egg. I am not against maternal incubation and will probably give it a try myself one day preferably on a clutch that I am not counting on.

[kxr]

Honestly, all I did when I incubated my first clutch (only just expecting my second *next weekend lol) was get one of those Eco terra incubators that they sell at pet stores, buy a container that was big enough to hold the eggs but not so big it didn't fit in the incubator (which was a bit of a struggle) at the dollar store, put a bit of water in it, stack a few light diffusers in the water so that it was above the water, put the eggs on top and seal it with press and seal. The humidity wasn't a problem and the incubator maintained the temps. Only 4/6 hatched but I attribute a lot of that to me going to Barbados during incubation and getting the bright idea to put a paper towel over the eggs so the water wouldn't dry up or something... It got wet and in turn so did a couple of the eggs... Luckily this time I won't be going on vacation until after they hatch.

[Seven-Thirty]

Honestly, in my opinion the human can be better at it than the snake. You should also factor in what your plans are. If you want to attempt breeding again next season, you need to get her off the eggs so she starts eating again. If you are like me and believe there is the possibility of gold in every egg you won't want to bet on how good a mother she is.

On the other hand, if this is a learning experience for you and you want to see how they do it naturally go for it if you think you can keep the environment right. I would be ready to pull her off the eggs if things start to go south. Sometimes there are rollouts that are good and you may have to incubate anyway to save the egg. I am not against maternal incubation and will probably give it a try myself one day preferably on a clutch that I am not counting on.

Yeah im going to have a back up incubator just in case of a rollout. Thanks!

Honestly, all I did when I incubated my first clutch (only just expecting my second *next weekend lol) was get one of those Eco terra incubators that they sell at pet stores, buy a container that was big enough to hold the eggs but not so big it didn't fit in the incubator (which was a bit of a struggle) at the dollar store, put a bit of water in it, stack a few light diffusers in the water so that it was above the water, put the eggs on top and seal it with press and seal. The humidity wasn't a problem and the incubator maintained the temps. Only 4/6 hatched but I attribute a lot of that to me going to Barbados during incubation and getting the bright idea to put a paper towel over the eggs so the water wouldn't dry up or something... It got wet and in turn so did a couple of the eggs... Luckily this time I won't be going on vacation until after they hatch.

The humidity thing is actually the problem im scared of. I think I'll try the vermiculite with an egg crate method.

[kxr]

Yeah im going to have a back up incubator just in case of a rollout. Thanks!



The humidity thing is actually the problem im scared of. I think I'll try the vermiculite with an egg crate method.

Either way I wish you luck. I can't wait to see some babies. What was she bred to?


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[JodanOrNoDan]

Nothing wrong with the vermiculite. I used to do it that way, but if you double up on the light diffuser you don't need it. Pros being it is the lazy method and you can see the water level. Cons being you have to be careful if you move the egg tub so that the eggs don't get splashed.