why separate the mother?

[bearhart]

I'm just curious why the standard procedure is to take the eggs from the mother and put them in an incubator. Is the "natural" course of action just less practical for some reason?

[tmlowe5704]

The eggs have a better chance at survival in a controlled incubator. Also, the mother will typically not eat if she has eggs with her. So that is 2 months of food she could eat to get back up to size for the next breeding season.

[joepythons]

The eggs have a better chance at survival in a controlled incubator. Also, the mother will typically not eat if she has eggs with her. So that is 2 months of food she could eat to get back up to size for the next breeding season.

What he said

[thehoofbite]

I've seen tons of pictures of angry mothers who warn anything near the cage but Im wondering if they keep that temperment once the eggs have been removed?

Are they still defensive after the eggs have been transferred?

[joepythons]

I've seen tons of pictures of angry mothers who warn anything near the cage but Im wondering if they keep that temperment once the eggs have been removed?

Are they still defensive after the eggs have been transferred?

Once you remove them from the eggs and clean them up they normaly cool the temper down.

[Ginevive]

I am going to go with artificial, incubator incubation. I feel this way because I want my females to be able to recoup the weight that they will lose, and get a better jumpstart for next year's breeding season. I want them to get a break

[Sputnik]

Some people allow the mother to incubate the eggs if the right conditions can be met and maintained for the duration required to hatch and do so successfully. Most of us don't because it's easier to incubate them in a reliable incubator, we can't meet the conditions required and then there's that other element.....to not lose sleep over the whole process!

[LadyOhh]

I have done both.

Interstingly enough, the maternal incubation worked better for me last year than my incubator!

I had a heat wave pass thru and the incubator went into the 100s. The eggs didn't make it, but the mother on her eggs knew what to do.

But, the mother has returned to her original size and not much more.. so taking the eggs away does have its advantages if you are looking to bulk your females up.

[AllStar]

There's nothing wrong with maternal incubation... but it's not as easy as it seems. For you or mom. You're still responsible for providing the correct conditions for incubation... whether in an incubator or in moms enclosure. For those that want to try maternal incubation... learn what she needs to do the job right. It's not as simple as it sounds. Below is a great article by Bob Clark on the subject of maternal incubation. It's primarily about Burms, but he does compare the differences between Burm and Ball maternal incubation.
http://www.bobclark.com/a03_06.asp

Hope this helps

[frankykeno]

Saw an amazing show on tv the other day that had some information about snake's and maternal incubation in the wild. They tracked a female snake using thermal imagery as she spent time both wrapped on her eggs and then leaving to bask. According to their calculations she allowed herself to get so warm it was almost to the point of being dangerous to her own health, then quickly returned to transfer this heat to her clutch of eggs. You could watch as she cooled down gradually, then repeated the process. Very interesting stuff!