Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Since alot of breeders are close to having eggs I was hoping everyone could explain there incubation process . What incubator are you using,What thermostat, what temps, What medium and water to medium ratio.What size and type of containers, Is there a fan used in incubator, Do you copletely seal or partially vent containers, Do you need to add water during incubation with your setup,Explain deposition eggs in medium,candling and after care of hatchlings. I am fairly new to ball python breeding so my plan is untested. Here is my plan to start the discussion off.

I will be using a home built incubator with a 11in piece of flexwatt as a heat source and a computer case fan for air circulation . A johnson controlls a419 thermostat set to 88degrees with a 1 degee differential which kept temps so far between 88-91 degrees for the last two days.I have a radio shack dual zoned digital thermometer that you can record two temps with and humidity...It has min and max memory.I will be using coarse Vermiculite with a 50/50 ratio by weight. I will be using Sterlite 6 qt tubs with 3 nches of medium,Tubs will be setup and prewarmed in incubator two weeks prior to expected eggs......Indentations will be made in medium with a sterile brush and eggs will be buried half way.Tubs will be covered with plastic wrap to hold humidity high and tubs marked for ID.Prior to depositing eggs they will be candled with a small mag light in the dark.eggs will be observed daily for signs of low humidity causing denting and water added if needed.Hopefully within 58 days I will have hatchlings. Hatchlings will be allowed to absorb egg sack and when ready placed on moist paper towels in seperate tubs at 88 degrees hot side.After first shed food will be offered . I make no claim to others to use this technique.....I was just hoping we all could learn from each other our individual techniques. Thanks so much to all that participate. Hope all your breeding projects come true!

It sounds to me like you have it covered... For some great info on this topic I would reccomend picking up a copy of The complete Ball Pythin by Kevin McCurley which is always available in the kingsnake book classifieds... If your looking for info in video form the Barkers produced a very nice DVD that shows you exactly how they incubate..

good luck

~ Mike

It sounds like your set-up will work out fine. Remember that there are only two requirements for successful incubation. Stable temps at the appropriate level, and high humidity. Anything that meets these two requirements will work. I personally believe the "no substrate" method to be far superior (search this forum for some previous discussion threads regarding this method).

The one bit of advice I have for you would be to relax. There is an inverse relationship between the amount of fuss a keeper puts into his eggs and their hatch rate. You have to do like Ron Popiel does with his countertop rotisserie - "set it and forget it". The more you mess around with the eggs, the worse they'll do. And don't worry about using a sterile brush to make indentations in the substrate...nothing else in the system will be sterile, and it doesn't need to be.

By "set it and forget it", I was referring to your idea to make daily observations. Thats really not necessary (and infact detrimental). Check on them once a week at first, more often the last couple of weeks. I know its hard, specially with your first clutch, but do take this advice. Opening the incubator daily will result in temperature and humidity fluctuations that could be detrimental.

Thanks for the reply .........I was able to find a link on the no substrate method and will take your advice. Looks like basically perlite and water and a plastic mesh like used for florescent lighting? Thanks again .........I will check weekly !

And believe me, I know how hard it is to resist the urge to check in on the eggs, especially in the beginning (first few clutches/years). It does get easier though. I had some travel planned over most of one summer, and actually was able to leave the house for a couple of weeks at a time with eggs in the incubator (obviously, this isn't ideal, but everything was fine...the only real fear was a of power outage or heat tape meltdown)...Set them up right and they'll be fine!

I use the no substrate method also and love it. I tried something I read here on kingsnake last year that resulted in ZERO mold at 100% humidity. I used some tropical fish anti-fungus at their recommended dosage in the water that I used for humidity and not one speck of mold on the eggs or anywhere in the incubator.

i assume you're talking about methylene blue. what was the ratio?
thanks

someone correct me if i am wrong. i was thinking of trying it myself this year. Rin

We also use the "no substrate" method and have had great results.

We use sealed egg chambers with pvc connectors and egg crate to build a "bridge" over the inch of water. The eggs set directly on the egg crate.

We keep the water in the bottles inside the incubator until the eggs are layed. Last year we had only a few clutches so we used this incubator I built. It uses 11 inch flexwatt and a helix with two cpu fans for circulation. It worked great but this year we are hoping for many clutches so we built a closet incubator which consists of an electric baseboard heater controlled by a Helix and a circulating fan.

Good luck,

Jaremy
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Thanks for the pics , the info I found showed perlite being used with water. Was unaware of the water only process. Makes sense , I controll humidity in my racks with size of water dishes and it works well. When My adults eyes glaze over I use a larger surface area bowls until they shed. It really helps for a complete shed. Thanks again for the input.

Bryan

Just a note...The wet perlite actually will have more surface area than the water alone. Also, the wet perlite will act as more of a "heat sink" than the water alone. Both methods will work, but I prefer the wet perlite.