South West Carpet Python Eggs.

It’s that time of year again when the South West Carpet Pythons start to lay their eggs.

The past few years I’ve bred a number of carpet pythons. And each time I have used artificial incubation with great success.

There are many ways to artificially incubate. And my preferred method that usually results in 100% hatch rate is a 1:1 ratio of vermiculite and water.

I use Sistema tubs for the container, and the process is very simple. I get the kitchen scales and place the container on the scales and zero the scales. I then put the vermiculite in and note the weight. For example 150mg of vermiculite. I then zero the scales again and put in the same weight of water (150mg). By hand I stir the mixture up so it all has the same moisture level. It’s not wet, but moist and will stick to your hand. Once this is done I level the mixture out ready to put eggs on top of it.

It’s important that once the eggs have settled for a few hours that they are not rotated. Doing so will kill the embryo. I often mark the top of my eggs with a felt tip pen. Either a line or a number. So if they move I know which way it should be facing. If you are lucky enough to catch the python laying you can take the eggs before they stick together. The advantage of incubating separated eggs is that if one goes bad, it wont contaminate the rest.

I lightly bury the egg enough to make a bit of a cradle in the vermiculite. This helps to stop them rolling when I take the tub out for an inspection.

The whole tub is placed sealed with no ventilation holes into the incubator. Over the years I’ve made and used many incubators. Broccoli boxes are excellent incubators as are fridges. I currently use a large glass front fridge that I modified into an incubator. I set the temperature between 31-32 degrees.
The sides of the egg tubs will get condensation this is normal and fine. However avoid condensation on the lid. Drops of water on the eggs will kill the embryos.