Ball Python Egg Candling. The dos and don'ts...

In today’s video, I’m going to candle some Ball Python eggs and show you how to tell if your eggs are alive. I’ll also discuss why we shouldn’t candle eggs too often, and other signs you can look for to see if your eggs are in trouble.

As usual, here’s a couple of links to articles on egg incubation:
1. Ball Python Egg incubation: https://ballpythonbreeder.co.uk/ball-python-care-sheet/ball-python-eggs/ball-python-egg-incubation/
2. DIY Ball Python incubator: https://ballpythonbreeder.co.uk/ball-python-care-sheet/ball-python-eggs/diy-ball-python-incubator/

And some links to materials I use in the video:
1. Hatch Rite: https://amzn.to/3Yw6BFq
2. Candling Light: https://amzn.to/3Qu7uMI
3. Press n Seal: https://amzn.to/3rYHhf4

In my opinion, egg candling is a great skill to have because it allows you to know with absolute certainty if your eggs are viable. That said, it’s not something to do every day!

In this video we learn the following:
• Egg candling is a great way to see if your incubator is doing the job. Candle the eggs after a couple of weeks: if they’re all healthy – great. If they’re starting to die off one by one, get a new incubator ASAP!
• When candling, you should see a network of veins that look like a spider’s web.
• If you have a good incubator, there’s no reason to candle eggs more than once or twice in the incubation period. Doing so more often could even harm the embryos.
• The best times to candle eggs are right after they hatch, when testing out a new incubator, or under exceptional circumstances.
• The only reason I’m candling these eggs is because I’ve just moved them to a new house. Otherwise I would just leave them to incubate in peace. Minimum disturbance is always best!
• Don’t forget, eggs should always maintain the same orientation. Don’t pick them up and put them back in a different position.
• Candling lights should be small enough for you to completely apply the lens to the surface of the egg. Big or powerful lights don’t work well and may be harmful.

*Sorry about the audio in the last two minutes – my microphone quit on me so you’ll need to raise the volume!*

Contents of this video:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Why I’m candling these eggs
01:32 What egg candling is
02:55 Clutch 1
04:40 Clutch 2
05:58 Other signs of dead eggs
07:01 Conclusion

I’m hoping after watching the video you’ll be confident enough to candle eggs yourself - and decide if you really need to or not. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need more info, though!

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