Maternal VS Incubator

[James_Scott]

I have read plenty on incubation and it is always recommended especially for 1st time breeders to incubate instead of maternal/Natural methods.
Whats so wrong with maternal? I would think it would be much simpler to let the mum do all the work.

 

[Stark]

2 reasons from all the info ive read / and talks ive been to.

1. If the mother incubates, she loses more weight and you cant as easily breed her the next season.
2. I think Shane Scarf mentioned a 33% or so mortality rate with letting the mother incubate as compared to a close to 100% hatch rate when you incubate.

 

[grimbeny]

Its alot of work for the mother to keep temps up for the eggs.

 

[James_Scott]

That makes sense. Does that go for all species of Pythons?

 

[jasontini]

IMO letting nature di the work would be the best way, after all the mother knows the temp limits that are best for her eggs and also understands the humidity requirements which may vary greatly from species to species..Of course it is simpler to handle eggs than to handle a very aggresive mother python protecting her eggs from outside attention..!
looking forward to breeding in the future though...

 

[James_Scott]

On the topic of breeding. If you intend on giving the female a year off, would you still need to drop temps in winter?

 

[-Peter]

2 reasons from all the info ive read / and talks ive been to.

1. If the mother incubates, she loses more weight and you cant as easily breed her the next season.
2. I think Shane Scarf mentioned a 33% or so mortality rate with letting the mother incubate as compared to a close to 100% hatch rate when you incubate.

No substantiation in this what so ever.
In fact someone delivered a paper on this at the CARA conference.

 

[Chris1]

by what i've read (i've never bred anything) its done in an incubator so the mum can take it easy and get on with eating etc, but by what i've read the suscess rates are really good.

teh bredli hatchies i got this year were hatched by mum with a 100% success rate!!

 

[Stark]

No substantiation in this what so ever.
In fact someone delivered a paper on this at the CARA conference.

I am no breeder

And I cant vouch for it. But this is information gathered from a talk Shane Scarf did at the last Illawarra Herp Society meeting a month ago.

Kinda makes sense to me tho? A mother python keeps her eggs warm by constantly generating friction or "shivering" - obviously this is going to require energy. And she isnt going to be leaving her eggs to eat during this time.

More energy out than in = ptyhon in worse shape.

And sure, mother nature knows what shes doing, but who says humans cant improve on it?

As I said, I have just regurgitated advice I heard first hand from a well respected breeder, I have no first hand knowledge and am nor a real expert or a "keyboard expert".

Cheers!

 

[solar 17]

incubating ???????

l have tried both ways [natural / incubation]in my experiences letting the mother do it , they lost some weight and became aggressive and the mortality rate was slightly higher than with incubation....this season l have females that have eaten twice [7 days apart] already since laying....l think like a lot of things in life it comes down to a personal choice.....cheers solar 17

 

[mysnakesau]

On the topic of breeding. If you intend on giving the female a year off, would you still need to drop temps in winter?

I do. I think it is healthier for them in the long run to be able to live life naturally.

 

[Chimera]

No substantiation in this what so ever.
In fact someone delivered a paper on this at the CARA conference.

Yep, Steve Comber.

He had a reasonably high success rate using maternal incubation, however he did concede that you probably would need to give them every second year off.

 

[Rocky]

I have read plenty on incubation and it is always recommended especially for 1st time breeders to incubate instead of maternal/Natural methods.
Whats so wrong with maternal? I would think it would be much simpler to let the mum do all the work.

The artificial environment is different to if they were in the wild, in the wild they can search for days for the perfect spot to lay, when we keep them, they get what they are given. Room temp can effect the enclosure temp, where as an incubator (if it is tightly fitted) wont be effected as much.

 

[-Peter]

I am no breeder


As I said, I have just regurgitated advice I heard first hand from a well respected breeder, I have no first hand knowledge and am nor a real expert or a "keyboard expert".

Cheers!

ditto here

 

[notechistiger]

I plan on using maternal incubation. I've talked to people from the US who use both maternal and artifical incubation, and those that prefer maternal get between 98-100% success rate of healthy hatchlings every season (females get interchanged- so some get bred one year and some don't). I've also talked to some people that feed their females while incubating and have never had a problem with that solution.

 

[cleopatra2285]

I haven't bed yet but i'd like to, i think i'd let mum do it but have an incubator on stand by just incase things don't go according to plan. My coastals mum did everything by the book and even had some twins, she laid 27 eggs and 33 babies came out of the eggs as far as i know all hatched and it was her first clutch. My girl is one of the twins cross fingers my girl has some.

Cheers
Bec