Ron's Ball Python Blog

You are now the proud parent of ball python eggs but are they any good? Ball python eggs are good or they’re not, there’s no in between. Some of the eggs in a clutch can be good and others bad. There are three major classifications for ball python eggs:

1. Fertile
2. Infertile
3. Slugs

Fertile eggs are usually nice looking white, healthy eggs that have been fertilized by sperm and will provide the environment for the growing ball python embryo. Infertile eggs are imposters because they tend to look like fertile eggs (white, healthy eggs) but are anything but fertile. The male ball pythons’ sperm never fertilized them yet they have the appearance of looking fertile. Can you tell which of the following eggs are fertile or infertile?

Ball python eggs

There’s no way to simply look at a ball python egg to tell if it’s fertile or not. Slugs on the other hand are easy to spot. They are oftentimes much smaller than normal eggs and they have a yellow color to them with a texture and feel like a hard rubber object. Like infertile eggs, slugs are just that, slugs, and do not have a ball python embryo inside.

Ball python slug with unknown attachment

Are my Ball Python Eggs Fertile or Infertile?
We can’t look at the outside of a ball python egg to know whether it’s fertile or infertile but we can look at the inside of a ball python egg for the answer. Before you start whacking any ball python eggs on your table to crack them open for inspection, I must tell you that there’s an easier (and less fatal) way to inspect the inside of the egg without doing any harm to the egg or developing embryo.

The method used to visually inspect the inside of a ball python egg is called Candling. Fertile ball python eggs have veins running along the walls of the egg whereas infertile eggs do not. If you turn off or darken the lights in the room, you can shine light through an egg and will be able to see the bright red veins running along the walls of the egg.

Chicken eggs candled for the presence of veins

Although a strong penlight type flashlight can be used to candle ball python eggs, it should be avoided like the plague because the intense heat buildup in front of the bulb can kill the developing embryo. There are several egg candlers on the market for you to choose from. The least expensive egg candlers on the market ($15-20 price range) have a cool surface bulb that will not damage the embryo. You simply plug it into your AC outlet, place the light emitting end against your ball python egg and look for veins. It’s really that simple.

Egg tester used for candling ball python eggs

Now you’ll know for sure how to test your ball python eggs to see if they’re good or not. One word of caution, be extremely careful if you candle eggs because you don’t want to drop or damage them. Another important thing to note is that you should not rotate ball python eggs while inspecting them. It’s best to simply place the candler directly on each egg without moving them to avoid causing harm to the eggs.

I hope you see nothing but deep red veins in each egg that you inspect. Feel free to visit our ball python forum if you have any questions or would like to discuss this topic in greater depth. Good luck and happy candling! :)