Python Carpet Health Information

Breeding
Breeding behavior begins in early spring, when males begin to fight each other for the right to mate. The victor mates with the female, who then ceases to eat and spends most of her time basking with her belly exposed to the sun. Between November and January (summer in the Southern Hemisphere), the female gives birth to a clutch of between 7 and 54 eggs. The average clutch is between 12 and 23 eggs. After laying the eggs, the female coils her body around the eggs, providing them with a small amount of warmth. If the temperature drops slightly, the female will twitch her body, which provides a little extra warmth to the eggs. If the temperature drops significantly, the female will stop vibrating. The decreased temperature, though, does not harm the embryos. When the weather is nice, the female will often leave the nest to bask. The eggs hatch after between 37 to 103 days of incubation, usually between January and February in the wild. The hatchlings, which are about 30cm at birth, usually stay in their eggs for about twelve hours after pipping. The incubation temperature can affect the sex of the young.