Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I was interested in starting a small breeding program and had a few questions.

First: How many females can one male breed with in a season, without stressing him too much? Would one male to three females be too much?

Second: Incubators, I'm not handy enough to build my own. Any reccomendations for an economical incubator that could accomodate 5 clutches (room for growth)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks a lot!

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LIZARDS

0.1 Irian Jaya Blue Tongue Skink- "Sausage Girl"
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko- "Sasha"
1.0 Veiled Chameleon

SNAKES
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa- "Johanna"

BIRDS
0.1 Goffin's Cockatoo- "Sydney"
1.0 Caique- "Diego"
1.1 Timneh African Greys- "Timmy & Sis"

MAMMALS
3.0 Angora Ferrets- "Bear, Stinky & King"
1.1 Domestinc Ferrets- "Chase & Angel"
1.0 Greater Swiss Mountain Dog- "Moose"

Please?
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LIZARDS

0.1 Irian Jaya Blue Tongue Skink- "Sausage Girl"
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko- "Sasha"
1.0 Veiled Chameleon

SNAKES
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa- "Johanna"

BIRDS
0.1 Goffin's Cockatoo- "Sydney"
1.0 Caique- "Diego"
1.1 Timneh African Greys- "Timmy & Sis"

MAMMALS
3.0 Angora Ferrets- "Bear, Stinky & King"
1.1 Domestinc Ferrets- "Chase & Angel"
1.0 Greater Swiss Mountain Dog- "Moose"

Don't know the answer to the single male, multiple female thing.

For the incubator you have some options. First, Hovabator makes some inexpensive small incubators that can hold 2-3 clutches each or more depending on clutch size. So two Hovabators will satisfy your needs.

You can make your own incubator using a large cooler , some Flexwatt velcro'd to the inside, and a temperature controller. A Ranco or Johnson ON/OFF controller will suffice. Set to 80 deg F or so. I recommend the use of Reflectix insulation between the Flexwatt and the cooler wall. The low-wattage Flexwatt (6 watts/ft 3-inch wide) is a good choice for this application. So is heat rope. Make sure the cooler spout is open for air exchange. You can substitute a mylar-coated heat pad for the Flexwatt. Bean Farm sells those. Aluminum tape is great for adhering it, so is Velcro.

Colubrid eggs do not have to be incubated at a constant temperature. The temp can fluctuate a bit during the day. I've had eggs in a room (no incubator) that got into the low-mid 80's during the day and dropped into the low 70s and even high 60s at night. Eggs still hatched. Humidity is very important. The eggs shouldn't be too wet or too dry for too long. That part is easy. Some Hatchrite or perlite in a plastic shoebox, some monitoring and adjusting of moisture as needed and you are good.
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Mark