Help! Eggs out of no where!

[Viper0hr]

Ok, so don't be mad at me :/ Not from no where exactly

First, I am no reptile expert, I like reptiles and snakes, have common sense, watch some YT vids on occasion, and sometimes lurk here for cool info.

I joined here when I bought a pair of BPs from a local who was moving and no one else wanted them,. They are currently 9 YO and a 4 YO and they have shared the same enclosure for 3+years (I know, I know, BAD), I have had them for a little more than 12 months.
They have never had any issue together the entire time I have owned them and the previous owner stated the same (I provided more hides and ect after purchasing). I have planned to buy them each their own 4x2x1 PVC enclosure, but have been saving up and have not been able to yet ($450+ shipped, yikes).

So anyways, the problem, today I checked on them and one of the warm side hides was skewed, so I lifted it and right away saw eggs and the smaller snake defensively staring at me (SHE (Now she I guess) is normally super sweet and loving, they both are). Put the hide back, panicked a bit, then checked again and left them alone.

There are 4 eggs I think, maybe 5 but for sure 4 and they look nice and healthy and are piled.

The issue is as follows, I have one large enclosure with 2 snakes in it, the eggs are under the far right hide under the lamp (Temp under hide is 85-88) (humidity inside cage is around 50-60%) and the mom is just sitting with them, as I understand she will do until they hatch unless offered food or thirsty.

I do have extra lamps and even a head pad and spare herpstat that is not being used...

Should I
A) Leave them all alone and let her nest them and hope the male stays nice.
B) Remove/Find temp home for male and let her nest them.
C) Make myself a makeshift incubator and steal the eggs to try and save.
D) Some better plan?
E) Kick myself for being stupid


Also, I'm a dumbarse because about 2 weeks ago I noticed a swelling in the small snake when she refused her last meal and left her alone thinking she may be gravid(Right term?) or something and may be female, guess I was kind of right...
More than anything I just want my snakes and offspring to be ok because it's not their fault I was stupid and unprepared for this.


Thanks for any heap, ideas, criticism, or encouragement ahead of time...


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[BallPythonWannaBe]

Honestly you could build a DIY incubater, but first consider if you have the resorces to house and feed 4-5 baby ball pythons.

[Kcl]

Freeze the eggs before the embryos develop and dispose of them and invest your time and money in setting up separate homes for the two adults you have. You might want to set one up in a tub until you can pay for the PVC enclosure you want.

[MD_Pythons]

I would freeze the eggs and immediately seperate the male, you don't exactly seem prepared to care for the hatchings. There are also some DIY incubators you could try.

[lew-e]

Everyone makes mistakes. Learn from it. I personally would see it through and build myself a makeshift incubator then begin housing those babies in a rack system of tubs. That can be done fairly cheap. Then get those adults split up in the very near future.


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[Viper0hr]

Honestly you could build a DIY incubater, but first consider if you have the resorces to house and feed 4-5 baby ball pythons.

I have the herpstat and pad to make an incubator, and could care for 4 or less babies until they can be sold local (There are always people looking for BPs here).

Freeze the eggs before the embryos develop and dispose of them and invest your time and money in setting up separate homes for the two adults you have. You might want to set one up in a tub until you can pay for the PVC enclosure you want.

Kind of savage to think about. So freezing is the way to dispose of them before they form, good to know.
I think I will post on my local FB for a breeder or someone who would take them for free if I can't save them myself, if not I guess that will be my option for now as sad as it is.



https://pensacola.craigslist.org/for...463029752.html

I saw this local and even thought about going and buying it, offering them a little less, but then I read up reviews on them and they are bad.

[Viper0hr]

Everyone makes mistakes. Learn from it. I personally would see it through and build myself a makeshift incubator then begin housing those babies in a rack system of tubs. That can be done fairly cheap. Then get those adults split up in the very near future.


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I would like to do that if possible, I have the stuff to make an incubator, and there is a crappy one Open box local as well, and I know I could easily rack 4 small babies for a while, I just thought asking for advise would help while I figure out what to do.

[Kcl]

Kind of savage to think about. So freezing is the way to dispose of them before they form, good to know.
I think I will post on my local FB for a breeder or someone who would take them for free if I can't save them myself, if not I guess that will be my option for now as sad as it is.

I don't really agree on it being savage personally. It's very early in development, neural development is limited. There's some differentiation, but the ability to feel pain and think is extremely, extremely unlikely to be there yet. They don't respond to stimuli at this stage. It's far less of a thinking, feeling creature than those of us who are meat-eaters contribute to the more painful death of every day. Letting them develop on the other hand is 4-5 thinking, feeling creatures that need to be taken care of for up to 40 years.

The paper below has pictures of an African rock python's development stages in the egg and description. Ball pythons' development would be similar.

http://www.academia.edu/698248/Embry...head_and_limbs

[tttaylorrr]

Ok, so don't be mad at me :/ Not from no where exactly

have common sense, watch some YT vids on occasion, and sometimes lurk here for cool info.

they have shared the same enclosure for 3+years (I know, I know, BAD)

sorry to come down on you a bit, but how can you state you have common sense yet prove you ignored everything this forum tells you? you say to be a lurker, but did you actually research anything? you seem very ill-equipped to care for a ball python, let alone two. why did you get them in the first place if you weren't going to provide proper care? your female (that you didn't even realize was female) could have become egg-bound and died, or had other complications from being gravid. you jeopardized her health, as well as the other snake's health, for...what exactly?

in this day and age, there is 0 excuse for this kind of ignorance and nonchalance towards the needs of your animals. you knew what these animals needed to be healthy and happy and you flatly ignored this.

i'm only being harsh so hopefully you can reflect on your actions and how they affect your animals. TBH i would try and re-home one and focus your attention on the other as you seem to lack the resources to care for them both.

freeze the eggs. you cannot provide for the snakes you have now, let alone a clutch.

good luck, for the animals' sake.

[cchardwick]

How exciting!!

Can anyone say scrambled eggs for breakfast? LOLOL.

Personally I'd advertise fertile snake eggs on Craig's List, I wouldn't even think about killing them in the egg. I know normals don't have much monetary value to them but they still make fantastic pets. If I were closer I'd take them off your hands. I've actually considered selling fertile ball python eggs at a show, not sure how well they would hold up to being moved and sold but I would probably be the very first person to ever sell ball python eggs. If you were closer I'd even let you borrow my reptile incubator, I have a couple smaller ones like you listed that I'm not even using since I moved up to larger incubators. If you could find a local breeder he may let you use an incubator and take the hatchlings off your hands after they hatch assuming you don't want to keep them.