Female Diamond python nest box/housing requirements???

[pyalda]

G'day all,
My female diamond python, roughly 6 foot and abit has become pregnant. shes getting bigger and i cant find any info on the nest box requirements/temps and all. ive seen guys here place a large plastic tub (including the lid) with a hole in it for them, however im unsure as to what bedding to put or if newspaper would work...ive heard it can suck the moisture from the eggs and what not.
so besides the bedding material ive come across yet another question....mind you this is my first time breeding(and hers).
i understand in the wild they lay their eggs then continuously go about trying to seek warmth from the sun then returning to the nest to warm the eggs effectively. Does that mean i must place the container/nest box in the cool part of the enclosure that way she has to get out of the box and onto her heat mat ....thus imitating the natural wild procedure orrrrr do i place the tub over the heat mat/place the heat mat inside at a certain temp that way stays put and happy unless thirsty etc.
and by the way, im guessing the box would be purchased at Bunnings or a local warehouse...or is must it be something specific.
any help will be greatly appreciated
cheers
Phil

 

[Stuart]

Try this thread for some initial advise mate.https://aussiepythons.com/forum/showthread.php/213375-buy-or-build-an-incubator?highlight=Incubators

Maybe it will help with some questions or pose new ones.

 

[cement]

I take the eggs off the female and incubate them for a couple of reasons. these days there is plenty of information out there on how to build or buy an incubator and how to incubate.
For the female to naturally incubate the eggs to hatch day, takes a lot of energy, I prefer to take the eggs and then get her feeding again asap.
The eggs like a bit of humidity, which I don't have in my enclosures.
As far as a nest box goes, I just put in a black plastic tub with shredded newspaper, but in the past I have used sugar cane mulch, dry sphagnum moss, even just a shoe box with shredded newspaper. She may or may not use a nest box, even if you don't put one in she'll lay anyway, I give her one in the hope that maybe it makes it more private and comfortable for her.
I also use a bit of astroturf in the bottom of the lay box because eggs don't stick to it, they do however stick to newspaper and melamine enclosure floors, so give her a box in the hope that if she does use it it can be easier to harvest the eggs. She'll lay eggs about 2 -3 weeks after a prelay shed, so u have time to get an incubator together and get it up and running and calibrated before the eggs arrive.

 

[pyalda]

I take the eggs off the female and incubate them for a couple of reasons. these days there is plenty of information out there on how to build or buy an incubator and how to incubate.
For the female to naturally incubate the eggs to hatch day, takes a lot of energy, I prefer to take the eggs and then get her feeding again asap.
The eggs like a bit of humidity, which I don't have in my enclosures.
As far as a nest box goes, I just put in a black plastic tub with shredded newspaper, but in the past I have used sugar cane mulch, dry sphagnum moss, even just a shoe box with shredded newspaper. She may or may not use a nest box, even if you don't put one in she'll lay anyway, I give her one in the hope that maybe it makes it more private and comfortable for her.
I also use a bit of astroturf in the bottom of the lay box because eggs don't stick to it, they do however stick to newspaper and melamine enclosure floors, so give her a box in the hope that if she does use it it can be easier to harvest the eggs. She'll lay eggs about 2 -3 weeks after a prelay shed, so u have time to get an incubator together and get it up and running and calibrated before the eggs arrive.

thanks budd, that helps alot, so shredded newspapers fine.....does it still work? (i dont want that factor hindering them from hatching or anything)......one more thing, how about the heating?? do i place the heat mat inside the plastic tub/container or do i expect her to move herself to the heat when required just like a normal non-pregnant python.
sorry for the newbie annoying questions but it is my first time and i cant find anything about the heat source and their nest box. because the pics ive seen are showing their python directly in the box....by that i mean the python is sitting in the box not on the enclosures floor with the box simply on top as a hide, so that confused me a little.
cheers
phill

 

[cement]

Gday phill,, if your going to let her incubate the eggs herself rather then take them off her (which is something I have never done), I would try two nestboxes. Dark tubs with lids are good because you can pick it up and pull it out of the enclosure, lift the lid and have a look at what she's doing.
I have never had a diamond lay eggs in moist or damp nesting material, some people like to spray the inside of the box to keep the humidity up, but in my case the snake has always preferred dry nesting material. But give her a choice, because we can only guess at what she is looking for in a nesting site. I'd put in two boxes, one dry and one slightly dampened and see what she prefers.
When she lays the eggs she will try to keep the temperature of them as stable as possible, and around 28.5 to 29 degrees. If you put the boxes in the enclosure, don't put it under or on top of the heater, if the temperature of the eggs gets to high they'll probably die. If they were in an area that could be kept at around 22-26 degrees, she'll do the rest by wrapping around them tightly and shivering, which will raise the temps up to what she wants. The closer the air temp to 28 degrees the less she has to work to heat them herself.
Still provide a basking site and plenty of fresh water, when I incubate my eggs the humidity is around 94% but I have witnessed a wild diamond who laid eggs in an old dry timber chest of drawers in a garage and they hatched out, you could stick a water bowl under the heat source if you wanted to raise the humidity in the enclosure

 

[pyalda]

i will incubate them probably with an old fridge with some heat cord......apparently works well.
thanks for the help.
cheers

 

[ronhalling]

[MENTION=26742]pyalda[/MENTION], if you want to make a cheap incubator from an old bar fridge here is the link from 1 of our older members that works quite well, good luck with your eggs. ..................Ron

 

[pyalda]

@pyalda, if you want to make a cheap incubator from an old bar fridge here is the link from 1 of our older members that works quite well, good luck with your eggs. ..................Ron

thanks budds, always appreciate the feedback

-phil

 

[pyalda]

hey again, suprised today as i found her on top of a lovely clump of eggs. one question comes in mind.....how long can i take before removing the eggs from her. she layed them last night or early morning 18/12/15, is it bad to wait an entire day, can that effect them, could i wait till morning that way i can go buy all the substrates and stuff needed.
thanks
phil