Post lay feeding question

[JodanOrNoDan]

I'm sure he'll share his explanation of why he chooses to do it this way but in general with females that have just laid, any hit of the sent of their eggs supposedly can cause them stress and an urge to find their clutch and continue to incubate them instinctually. So they stay in new mother mode instead of moving on to feeding. I have not experienced this though, washing with water has been enough for my girls to forget about the eggs and resume feeding.

I have had a few look for their eggs for days. I had one incubate her water bowl and went on to not eat until awhile after her clutch actually hatched. Since then I clean really well.

[Bogertophis]

I have had a few look for their eggs for days. I had one incubate her water bowl and went on to not eat until awhile after her clutch actually hatched. Since then I clean really well.

Oh, OK, so it's a ball python thing* then. I've hatched out a number of clutches of snake eggs, & none of the moms ever looked for their eggs, but since they don't do
maternal incubation in the wild, that explains it. (*or any other kinds of snakes that do incubate in the wild, like maybe cobras?)

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Oh, OK, so it's a ball python thing* then. I've hatched out a number of clutches of snake eggs, & none of the moms ever looked for their eggs, but since they don't do
maternal incubation in the wild, that explains it. (*or any other kinds of snakes that do incubate in the wild, like maybe cobras?)

Definitely a BP thing I have never washed a colubrid off, BP however it's like everything else they do, they like to be different and make it difficult.

Now will there be female resuming feeding no matter what? Yes not the majority though, just like their will be females that even when the scent is completely washed off will not resume feeding before another 60 days (again in the minority)

[Bogertophis]

Definitely a BP thing I have never washed a colubrid off, BP however it's like everything else they do, they like to be different and make it difficult.

Now will there be female resuming feeding no matter what? Yes not the majority though, just like their will be females that even when the scent is completely washed off will not resume feeding before another 60 days (again in the minority)

The chance of my breeding BPs is exactly zero, but this is very informative & something that I'll share in the future...always something new to learn.

I didn't initially realize why you were washing them off post-lay, since disinfectants were mentioned, but the issue of scent makes total sense, at least for BPs.