I also am baking mine at 30 this year. Seems to give me fatter, better babies
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Yes I believe that too and less complications, but how long, im too exited.
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It’s varied, I think mine this year we’re on average 65-70 days
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About the same time Nathan notes: 65-70 days or so
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87 degrees mine pip at 60 to 65 days.
And this in my experiences lower incubation temperatures equals less defects and problems in general.
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Yes, From this and other threads here, Im convinced of cooler temps too now so am going for 30c /86F to 30.5c/ 87F.
When I did colubrid snakes in the past I used to be accurate within days, but not sure for ball pythons. Maybe its the conversion form imperial to metric and the lack of experience and data on my part.
From what I can work out with my conversions this seems to be temperatures = days roughly?
@ 30c /86F = 65 to 75 days
@ 30.5c/ 87F = 60 to 65 days
@ 32c / 89.6F = 55 to 60 days
Does that sound right?
(it would be really good if we had one point of reference for this information for all temperatures on the site, just an idea.)
I guess the range is due to minor temperature inaccuracies, fluctuations and position affecting minor differences in temperature, like eggs on the top being hotter and inaccuracies in thermometers.?
When I used to incubate at 90 they would start coming out on there own around 50 to 53 days.
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I will place a caveat on my numbers - I run a 12/12 on the heat in my incubator, so there is a cyclic pattern fluxing from 27-30.5 over the course of the day
I incubate at 86-87. They end up hatching around day 65 generally.
That’s really interesting in addition to the average temperatures. Most information out there would have me (as a new person to ball pythons) believe much higher temperatures are required for ball pythons compared to nre world snakes for example. Its beginning to look to me like there is not much if any difference for safe lower incubation temperatures.
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This is one of those “but the old school knows best so never change anything” mentality that is slowly getting reformed. Way way way back, the individuals that managed to establish most of the species we take for granted today used the higher temps. And so their methods from the 50s/60s/70s were just taken as gospel. With people starting to look more at natural ecology than just “animals in box” we are learning that some of the old way may not have necessarily been the ‘right’ way or the ‘only’ way
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This is so spot on! So many practices are outdated information and just wrong. But a lot of people in the hobby won’t change there practices because that would mean admitting they did things wrong to begin with.
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Agreed, but not all of us, I can now admit I was wrong (with some things). I was one of those who breeding worked for me back in the day when it was new, I even had firsts in breeding with collaborations with london zoo. so I thought what ever i did must be right and I had it sussed. 
Admittedly, it was posting here that relatively recently changed me, it was not comfortable and i kicked and screamed initially, but knowledge is always evolving and we all have to accept that.
Also @t_h_wyman Thanks for the directness back then that i needed to face that information is not an absolute fact but always evolving.
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Absolutely this is true about everything in life! Wise words!
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Learning never is comfortable. But I think all of that have learned will admit that the temporary pain is worth so much in exchange for the new knowledge 
I know I own that pain almost on the daily LOL
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Always happy to help. And thank you for being both open to listening. I know I have a reputation for being very blunt and to the point sometimes and that that often times turns people away. So I appreciate it when people I might lock horns with can recognize that I am the same way with everyone and my goal is not to harm but to help get over that first bump 
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What temp our your female breeders when they are developing?
I’ve done 88.7F background temp for years. I think inside the egg box can run a little hotter than background late in the incubation for some reason. Mine have been pipping around day 56.
From this thread thinking maybe I should try knocking the temp down a bit. I do occasionally hatch the horribly kinked baby with organs hanging out. Rare but has happened. Also, years ago had some missing eyes. Would love to never see either again.
Any thoughts on the eye thing? I see it reported throughout the industry from time to time. Wondering if mom temps late before laying could even factor in?
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I had this happen to me last year, the eyes that is. Mine I believe was due to some early temp spikes in the incubator within the first couple weeks. It swung up to 94-95 degrees before I noticed it after a few days.
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Eggs tend to generate a fair bit of heat toward the end of incubation so this is not an unlikely observation
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