So it begins, 2009 Diamond eggs

[gonesnakee]

A quick crappy pic, but eggciting for me anyway LOL 1rst batch of the year here for 2009. I'll be stealing these here later this afternoon. Oh & of course she never used her nesting box despite 2 being offered :rolleyes: LOL At least she didn't go for under the heatpad again this year as I thought she was going too. THX Mark

http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp67/GONESNAKEE/Diamond%20Pythons/DSCN8546.jpg

[st3v3n]

nice dude congrats!!

[Smilts]

cool I figure to see alot of these in the near future its getting to be that time of the year. Congrats.

[Kmef07]

Nice dude congrats

[Chu'Wuti]

Wow, Mark! Congratulations! It looks like a healthy batch for the most part--how many?

[gonesnakee]

THX folks! Looks like she laid around 33? not positive (don't really care at this point either LOL). There was 2 slugs & the one badly nippled egg was really small so they were tossed leaving around 30. 2 of the 30? are nippled as well but not too bad so we will see about them over time if they make it if they are fertile. I was happy to see them & her NOT under the heatpad for a change LOL
She had left them fro a drink? so it was an easy steal. A couple lil hisses & then a lot of looking for them once they were gone like a good Momma. "Hey where did they go?" LOL THX Mark

[gonesnakee]

A look at the clutch of eggs incubating

http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp67/GONESNAKEE/Diamond%20Pythons/DSCN8549.jpg

Mom still wondering where they went to?

http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp67/GONESNAKEE/Diamond%20Pythons/DSCN8550.jpg

Cheers Mark

[Aaron_S]

Have you ever let a female incubate the eggs herself?

[gonesnakee]

Have you ever let a female incubate the eggs herself? Are you meesig with me for April Fools IE: crossposting LOL because I'm off to another forum to copy the answer & then paste it here LOL Mark

[gonesnakee]

Taken from the ERAS forums LOL Mark

Nope, no disrespect to Momma but I do a much better job LOL Also the female hs already not seen a meal for going on 2 months plus. If her eggs were left with her she likely would go another couple with no meals. Plus I can control the temps & humidity better than her, nothing can get turned upside down or squished in an incubator. Babies can't get out of the tub they are in in the incubator but could get everywhere & even out of Mommas cage etc.
I think it would be cool to try once maybe, but not with Diamond eggs LOL
I have a JCP here that ws maternally incubated & know a few folks that have done so with various Pythons as well. THX Mark

[Kmef07]

mark i know you know a hell of a lot more than i do but snakes are extremely well adapted to incubate their own eggs. they can keep them at a much better temp and humidity than an incubator ever can. I have been doing a lot of research because next year im planning on breeding and i wanted to know which was better. the snakes whole body is programed to have babies and it doesn't stop at the mating part. They have evolved to do it near flawlessly. A couple texts I have read say they can control the temperature of the eggs to within .0001 of what they want it to be and they can control the humidity to make it whatever they want also. lastly they know the ideal conditions they want their eggs at to be successful. their whole species relies on the ability to birth babies.

Again I know you know a ton more than i do and im not trying to show u up but this is what i have found through some credible sources.

[Chu'Wuti]

Wow, Kyle, you are braver than I expected.

Ummm . . . think I'll try to distract him while you escape . . .

Mark, are the dimples potentially a bad sign? Why does that happen? And what appears to be a brown spot on one of the eggs . . . is that bad?

[gonesnakee]

Wow, Kyle, you are braver than I expected.

Ummm . . . think I'll try to distract him while you escape . . .

Mark, are the dimples potentially a bad sign? Why does that happen? And what appears to be a brown spot on one of the eggs . . . is that bad?
If you read the above posts it tells a bit about the 2 "nippled" eggs. As for the dimpling or deflated look. All Python eggs are like that when first laid. Like part full water ballons kinda. They fill out more over time. When you first feel them its hard to believe their even going to have babies in them.
As for maternal incubation its not a new thing afterall LOL I think mothers of all sorts of species do just fine without any interaction from man. That said read what I said before as thats the just of it ;) Mark

[Chu'Wuti]

If you read the above posts it tells a bit about the 2 "nippled" eggs. As for the dimpling or deflated look. All Python eggs are like that when first laid. Like part full water ballons kinda. They fill out more over time.

So I take it 1) the brown spots I'm seeing are what you are calling the "nippled" eggs and that you're taking a "wait & see" attitude towards them, and 2) the dimpling is normal.

Thank you for explaining, Mark. I'm trying to learn all I can before I try breeding anything myself!

[citysnakes]

good looking clutch Mark. im sure they'll all hatch! good luck!

[Kmef07]

Nope, no disrespect to Momma but I do a much better job

That is what i was refering to lol. And like i said i was just debating cuz thats what i do. lol. Im sure you are good at it too just not as good as the happy mommy. but i see you wanting her to eat so i guess that is an ok idea. some sources i read said if the mom feels she is becomming too unhealthy though and needs to eat she will leave the eggs for a time to get food then come back. is there any truth to that?

[gonesnakee]

In the wild Mothers will leave the clutch to go drink water etc. yep thus leaving them unprotected & open for predators while shes gone. As for snakes in general its pretty much only the Pythons that take care of their clutches. Lots of snakes will stay with them a day or 2 & then leave (most Colubrids) but as you have read Pythons make the best Moms. Pythons will actually rub their coils together to generate heat via friction to warm up the eggs when required etc.
Its healthier for Mom to be feeding & drinking for those 2 months anyway.

As for the nippled eggs yep they are the brown spot ones. Good chance they will either not be fertile or will go bad, but nothing ventured nothing gained. THX Mark

[st3v3n]

hey guys my brb has become extremley agesive outa no were. he was very nice idk wat happend? any clue?

[Aaron_S]

Kyle, Mark has touched on why it's better to incubate the eggs ourselves instead of letting mom do it. Also think that while a snake can make the eggs the right temps as well humidity the problem is that YOU need to be sure that the rest of the enclosure is kept at the proper temps/humidity without any major changes or else the momma just can't do it either.

Also, Mark did I ask on the other forum? I didn't even realize it.

[Kmef07]

Good point Aaron

[gonesnakee]

You didn't Aaron but someone else did, so I cheated & used the same answer, Mark

[Aaron_S]

You always do!

[Chu'Wuti]

hey guys my brb has become extremley agesive outa no were. he was very nice idk wat happend? any clue?

Steven, as this thread is about the Diamond eggs, rather than trying to hi-jack this one, it appears that it would be better for you to start your own thread to obtain answers to your question. You're more likely to get answers that way.

[gonesnakee]

Steven, as this thread is about the Diamond eggs, rather than trying to hi-jack this one, it appears that it would be better for you to start your own thread to obtain answers to your question. You're more likely to get answers that way.

And when you do provide as much husbandry & history details as you can think of as otherwise people will just be guessing randomly, Mark

[hogislandbreeds]

wow eggs!! good job.