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maternal incubation [again]

Quiet Tempest

Quiet Tempest

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This is the third year I've gone this route and the first of my 2011 clutches. This female, Freckles, was sold to me as a het burgundy so I'd like to try proving her out in the future. I've bred her to both a mojave and a pastel though I only saw locks with the mojave. She laid her eggs on March 18.



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She laid 8 eggs, no slugs and I added more cypress and some moistened sphagnum moss to her tub to boost humidity after finding the humidity level in her tub below my comfort zone of 65-85%. The added substrates actually boosted humidity up to 95%. I wasn't happy with things jumping up so high because I don't want chance the substrate getting wet and threatening the clutch but it gradually came down and has remained at 75%-80% and I'm much more comfortable with this range.

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Freckles has managed to roll one of the eggs to the top of the pile. As a result, it isn't getting the same exposure to increased humidity as its sibling eggs and has become wrinkled. I may try to move this down alongside the rest and get her to re-coil all of them but I'm hesitant to do anything to irritate her too much and potentially cause her to abandon the nest. This is the first time this particular snake has given me eggs and I don't want to test her tolerance with me.

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Candling on Day 17

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Candling on Day 27

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And a short video clip on Day 27


http://www.youtube.com/v/SDxh8NHutqs
 
Thanks, guys. :)


I'm a bit peeved with this female because she's reluctant to eat for me. Last year I had three females on eggs and all three of them ate (two of them ate every week to 10 days and the third was more sporadic and only ate a few times while on her eggs). This girl acts as if she'll take the food offered and then changes her mind. Oh well. I'll keep offering but if she goes the entire duration without taking a meal I'm not going to fret.
 
That's really kewl. I've always been afraid to do maternal incubation. Maybe ill try it one year, normal to normal so that if I lose the eggs or babies its not too big of a deal.
 
Thanks. :)

It's taken some time to get her used to me dropping in to check on her from time to time but she doesn't hiss or act like she's going to strike at me now. A couple weeks ago, I think she wanted to take my arm off! lol I had three females on eggs last year. Of them, only one showed aggression and that was only toward the end when she was going into a shed cycle while brooding.
 
When I first heard of someone actually using the "maternal incubation", I thought they were crazy! Now I think it's pretty cool...I just don't have the nerve to try it myself!!
 
LOL I used to think the same thing but I wound up trying maternal incubation with my very first BP clutch. I enjoyed it so much I can't imagine doing it any other way now. ;)
 

Freckles 2011 - Candling (Day 34)


I'm having trouble embedding video on here but I got another video of egg candling.

A few new pics, too.

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Waiting is killing me. I do have another clutch of eggs due in the next week or so, though. So I've got that to look forward to while I wait on these guys.
 
AWW look at the lil baby move! :) I could spend hours candling eggs! I love it! Great vid, thanks for sharing that!!
 
Awesome. I respect and always envy those who successfully allow maternal incubation. I'd be way too scared to try it myself! Keep us posted!
 
Just updating...


Day 43

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The uppermost egg had been sitting on top of the pile for a while. I moved it down so it could sit next to its sibling eggs and share the same benefits of being completely covered by mom's coils. It had been getting rather wrinkly and oddly shaped sitting on the top and acting as a chin rest for mom. I moved the egg about a week ago and it looks like it has filled out really well. It's still dented on one side but it's very pliable and I believe that the baby inside is fine. All eight of the eggs look like they're starting to dimple a bit and they all feel softer now. I think these guys have another two weeks or so before I can expect some pipping. :)
 
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