The female, however, only has the ability to raise the temperature of the eggs. There is a temptation to turn the entire cage into a big incubator by raising the temperature and humidity above the proper levels in order to "cover their bets." Those unfamiliar with maternal incubation are often reluctant to completely turn over the responsibility for the eggs to the female. If the eggs are to be left with the female, the temperature in the cage should be maintained in the low to mid-80s, with around 80-percent relative humidity. Should the eggs be incubated artificially or maternally? Most keepers incubate eggs in an incubator, but only, I think, because they are unfamiliar with the female snake’s capability for incubation. Sometimes in smaller species the eggs are so completely covered that it is possible to lift the female and her eggs from the nestbox and not be able to see the eggs - her body covers them top and bottom, and at no point do the eggs even contact the substrate! Maternal Incubation for Snakes After laying has been completed the female covers her eggs completely with her body. Eggs are deposited in an ever-growing pyramid-shaped pile within these coils. Females of all species arrange themselves in loose coils with their tails in the center. The laying process itself takes several hours. That said, I’ve had females lay eggs on a flat newspaper-covered surface and hatch them with good results. In the wild, I’m sure females are able to make deeper depressions with this process. In the wooden nestboxes this movement eventually pushes all the moss from the bottom of the box and into the corners and sides. I’ve observed Burmese pythons preparing a nest area by pressing a bottom coil down on the substrate and rolling it to the outside, which creates a bowl-shaped depression. During this time they arrange the substrate to their liking. Most female pythons spend the majority of their time in the nestbox the month before laying. I usually provide the nestbox after this prelay shed. Most pythons go through a shed cycle about 30 days before laying time.
The moss should be damp enough so that it is not dusty, but only damp, not wet. The floor of either type of nestbox should be covered with about 3 inches of slightly damp sphagnum moss. For small species (carpets, ringed pythons, Macklot’s pythons and others of similar size) I provide a plastic Rubbermaid-type box with a hole in the side or top to allow the snake access.įor larger species (Burmese, reticulated and African rock pythons) I construct a wooden box about 24 inches square, with 6-inch-tall sides and that is open on top. It should be large enough to contain the coiled snake, but small enough that when the female is incubating her body can touch the sides. I like to provide a nestbox a few weeks before the eggs are due. If the gravid female python is to be allowed to incubate her own eggs, then some preparations need to be made in advance on the part of the keeper. Incubating female pythons are constantly monitoring temperature and moisture levels of their eggs and making adjustments throughout the incubation period. This moisture can be conserved if a female coils tightly around her eggs, or it can be allowed to escape if she opens her coils. The respiration of the eggs themselves generates some moisture. Incubating female pythons are also able to influence moisture in the environment immediately around the eggs by behavioral means. After the eggs are laid the female covers them completely with her body. Wild females select nesting sites based on several factors, including security, temperature fluctuation and moisture level. Incubating females of these species bask until they raise their body temperature and then return to the eggs to transfer the heat to them. Other species, such as spotted pythons, ball pythons and carpet pythons, can influence incubation temperatures through behavioral means.
In both cases the snake’s body and the eggs themselves are maintained in a very narrow range of temperatures despite changes in the ambient temperature. Reticulated pythons, African rock pythons and others accomplish the same increase in body temperature without these visible contractions. Strangely, even though pythons are cold-blooded animals, female pythons of several species have the ability to raise their body temperatures through physiological means and maintain it throughout the incubation period.īurmese pythons contract their muscles in a rhythmic shivering or twitching to generate heat. All pythons coil tightly around their eggs throughout incubation.
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