Twenty reticulated pythons were born in Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, recently. Also, 36 eggs of an Indian rock python hatched successfully recently, sources said.
Zoo director K.S.S.V.P. Reddy said a total of 25 reticulated pythons are reared at the zoo, apart from Indian rock pythons and ball pythons.
One of the female pythons laid 45 eggs on April 8.
As part of its routine, once the eggs are laid, the female python coils itself around the eggs to protect them from predators and any other disturbances. At night when the temperature dips, the body warmth of the mother will provide the required heat to the eggs during their incubation period.
Twenty eggs hatched after 75 days, he said. The newborns measured 61 cm to 76 cm. On an average, a newborn snake weighs 90 grams.
Once hatched, pythons do not nurture the newborns. The newborn snakes were isolated from the mother and kept in separate earthen pots.
The newborn snakes do not eat any food immediately. A couple of weeks later, they will be given one-week-old rats as feed. “Once they grow, they will be brought to the exhibit area and released with other pythons in the serpentarium in the zoo,” Mr. Reddy added.
