Hatching in 90 days

Great luck: Carinthian zoo expects 35 python babies

The reticulated python has laid 35 eggs completely hidden away.(Bild: Helga Happ)

The Happ Reptile Zoo (Carinthia) can look forward to a new addition to its family: a reticulated python has laid around 35 eggs. The little ones will hatch in 90 days.

"We are very reassured, because reptiles only mate when they feel comfortable," explains zoo operator and snake expert Helga Happ. "This is confirmation that we offer the animals a good environment." As a result, the animals at Happ Reptile Zoo regularly reproduce.

"We had already noticed that our female reticulated python was getting fatter and fatter, and on Monday night the time had come," says Happ happily. "The 35 eggs will now incubate for a good 90 days." Not all of the eggs are likely to be fertilized; the rest will hatch into little snakes at the beginning of May. "This year, Mother's Day at the reptile zoo will be celebrated with particular joy when a new mother snake joins the human mothers."

We are very reassured, because reptiles only mate when they feel comfortable. This is confirmation that we are providing the animals with a good environment.

Zoobetreiberin Helga Happ

Fasting mother python, aggressive young 
While the mother is breeding, she does not eat. "She only drinks a little water from time to time. We can't add anything to that either, because snakes recognize that immediately with their sense of smell," says Happ. When the time comes, the babies slit open the leathery egg with their "egg tooth".

"They stay in the egg for the first day and only venture out on the second day," explains the reptile expert. "They are then very aggressive and bite quickly. After all, everything is a threat to the little ones." The python babies are then sent to other zoos - so the wild life is doubly protected. "You can't release them because they carry germs that could be deadly to wild animals," explains Happ. "And if enough pythons are bred, none are taken from the wild."