Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well It would appear my other clutch us going bad. It is important to note that the female this clutch came from has never given me a good clutch yet. After the last one went bad I junked my home made incubator and went to my local feed store and purchased an incubator. Hopefully this year it was not a pointless purchase. A picture is posted below for your opinions. Note the dud on top of the clutch. Some of the eggs are turning brown and green and the container dose have a foul smell emitting from it. For the most part the eggs in the middle of the clutch look good so maybe I will try separating them. This clutch has been in the incubator at 82F for just under a month now.

Foot Hill Reptiles

they are too wet!!!!! what is the water/perilite ratio!?!?! is it wet, moist, or dry. Looks soaking wet!!!! needs to be just enough water that you can barely squeeze 1 or 2 drops when you grab a handful. You put too much water int here!!! and the bottom of the incubator should be holding water!!!! looks bone dry!!!! have you read any corn snake books!?!?!? thats why they are all dying. your killing them....
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, A pair of Leucistic Black Rat X Leucistic Texas Rat Intergrades, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn, Ball Pythons, A reverse Trio of Candoia, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping Turtle, a White Cheeked Mud Turtle, an Adult Rescue Iguana, and A Baby Iguana

"your killing them...." I never thought I would say this but that offends me. The incubator I was using before is the exact same set up that I have had success with before. I changed to the new incubator because thats all I could think of. As far as the water ration to be honest I don't know. What I have done all this time is just add a little bit of water until the humidity gets to 80% and then hold it there adding only when needed to hold humidity. As far as the new incubator no there is no water in it. the inside of the incubator in not meant to get wet. I suppose I could add water but I don't want to risk electrocution. The egg container has water in it. You say there is to much water. I will change containers and see what happens. Do you think its to late for the eggs that are discolored? Thanks for the reply, However offending it may have been it is much appreciated.
Foot Hill Reptiles

Ok so as soon as I finished replying I went and changed egg containers with a new clean one with no water in it. I figured if they were to wet I would put them in a new container with new Pearlite and no water and watch them for signs of dehydration before adding any water at all to the new container. Anything ells you think I should do to save whatever eggs may still be good? It looks to me like the eggs in the middle of the clutch are still nice but its the surrounding eggs that I am not sure about. Thanks again.
Foot Hill Reptiles

If it were me, I'd mix up a whole new batch of perlite, but this time carefully weigh the water and the media to make sure the ratio is about 1:1 by weight. I would also use a lot more perlite in the incubation container. The fuller eggs should be able to make it just fine....
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

Thanks a million, Whats the reason for using more perlite?
Foot Hill Reptiles

try covering 1/2 the eggs.... when snakes lay they usually lay UNDER leaves but we as breeders like to see if the eggs dimple or swell. so bury 1/2 the eggs in the perilite. i didnt mean to be rude, but it looked like too much water. 1.1 ratio is correct. i mist my eggs about once a month just to be safe. it looks like you have a hovabator, is that correct!?!?
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, A pair of Leucistic Black Rat X Leucistic Texas Rat Intergrades, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn, Ball Pythons, A reverse Trio of Candoia, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping Turtle, a White Cheeked Mud Turtle, an Adult Rescue Iguana, and A Baby Iguana

Actually I have a Little Giant still air incubator. After reading some fine print there are water channels on the bottom, Funny when I read the set up it said by no means ever put water in it. I filled the channels according to the instructions. The eggs technically are suppose to sit on the screen as well but I already had them in a container as per my last set up. I left them in said container but removed the top of it so they would be subjected to the habitat within the incubator as the directions state. Dont worry about being rude, you know I don't hold a grudge. Thanks for all the help.
Foot Hill Reptiles

......if you took the lid off the inner container...I bet the incubator will dry them up now.....

sad huh....

....I personally hate perlite only......I mix it with vermiculite just to get rid of it....and to fluff up the small particle type of vermic.....I now have a big bag of bigger particle vermic so......no perlite..

yes half bury the clutch...

yes 82 degrees......

I never used an incubator for any eggs except pythons....

I stick corn eggs in shoebox half burried in vermic and stick it on a shelf in the snake room.....80 to 85 usually......

my first thought on the pic was they were too dry...but dry doesn't make them turn green as fast as wet......I am gonna get my glasses and check it again......wet would explain them dying fatser than dry.......

the incubator says set eggs on screen ....that's bird eggs......

water in the channels isn't a bad idea......

and do not get water in the heating controls......which makes me wonder....cause if we put water in the bottom and it evaporates...it will then condense in and on the top and controls and heating elements......I have one here I borrowed and I am waiting for it to fry and die due to condensation in the element......(I hope not).....

.........and I don't weigh my water and vermic......wet it ahead of time till it is damp...it will look dry almost in texture......you can run your fingers around in it like it is still fluffy....yet it will hold together into a clump when compressed.....yet fall apart easily.......

........wet eggs usually swell......dry eggs dimple........

those eggs were dimpled.......

glasses time......>>>>>>>>>>>>.
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God your post relays my confusion perfectly. Yes put water in the channels, But don't get it anywhere ells, this seems contradicting but its right in the directions. Good thing I still have the receipt. The eggs in the middle swelled after a while, The eggs you see dimpled never swelled like th others, As I said in the first post this female has never given me a good clutch, One clutch made it full term but none of the baby's made it. Maybe those dimpled, green, brown eggs in the picture were never good to begin with judging from her history.
Foot Hill Reptiles

I'm glad my confused speak makes sense to someone finally......

I write as I think.....and short thoughts are easier to type...therefore must be easier to read than a long drugout correctly punctuated paragraph LOL....

....anyways........

have you ever hatched corn eggs before???......a few? alot???..

some snakes just give crappy eggs,year after year.....and sometimes we have bad years and alot do it.....then the next they are all good ,or at least better ...

....if she suxx she suxx....sell her off or give her away......makes better sense to get a new female ...

......most bad / infertile eggs will go bad really quickly......but yes sometimes thay take a month to start going green......

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Yes I have hatched them before. Last year they all went bad just like this year. It makes no sense to me because I am doing everything the same. The year before was my first year breeding.
Foot Hill Reptiles

Whats the reason for using more perlite?

It stabilizes the temperature of the eggs somewhat - water is an excellent thermal capacitor, lots of medium means lots of water means that the temperature in the container changes slower than the temperature in the air outside the container, so it doesn't raise to quickly or drop too quickly.

That's also one of the reasons you should fill the bottom with water.

Myself - I use 4qt sterilite hoeboxes. 2 qts of vermiculite (mixed 1:1 by weight with water) - it seems overkill, but it works.

I can fit two of them in an incubator. I use saran wrap to cover it held on with a large rubber band, and once a week - remove the saran wrap and wave my hand to mix the air.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

I put water in the channels at the bottom of the incubator as per the instructions, I CAN NOT fill the bottom because there are drain holes for any water that may escape from the channels. Thanks for explaining the deeper substrait
Foot Hill Reptiles

Right - filling the channels is what I do.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

Thats what I did, Now I am seeing bugs on the eggs. God its a never ending thing LOL. These eggs had bugs on them and per the advice here I cleaned each one and had no problems for the past couple weeks but now I am seeing a little bug or 2 every now and then and a gnat every so often to. I am starting to think they are just not meant to make it LOL
Foot Hill Reptiles

In my experience - the gnats only go after bad eggs.
I've had tons of gnats lay their eggs on eggs that have gone south, filling them with their maggots, while a good egg attached to the bad egg continues to develop normally and hatch just fine.

If you have any bad eggs - they will attract the bugs and gnats.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

So would it be your recommendation to stop opening the incubator every 2 minute to swat away the gnats? Just leave them be and let them go after the bad eggs?
Foot Hill Reptiles

I remove the obviously bad eggs when the maggots start appearing.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

Ok cool, but until then just don't sweat the gnats? Is there a trick to removing bad eggs? I would hate to tear opened a good egg while trying to remove a bad one.
Foot Hill Reptiles

bad eggs attached to good eggs I just leave.

The white stuff below the egg is a bad egg that got infested with those fly/gnat maggots and eventually just shriveled up after the maggots had eaten the contents - without ever infesting the good egg next to it.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

Ok gocha, thanks for all the info. I feel a little bit better now.
Foot Hill Reptiles

ok......the good eggs look not wet and not dry....

the rotting eggs look wet...but they sweat all the time and do this......

yes I saw the droplets on the container side......but with perlite I think the eggs can still dry out even though the moisture is under them and on the container sides.....this is why I hate perlite......the water doesn't stay on top layer where it's needed......it's like it all wicks to the bottom......

....my opinion......from past trials using it......and the eggs , at least some,,,died..I forget how many......or what species....probably corns....

......like they said..use more substrate and half bury them.....

and without the top to the container......you'll be sorry.

and with it.......not enough air.....????.......

......I use shoeboxes and they have 3 small holes in the top......that's it.....but at least there are some
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I use to get Vermiculite at my local nursery, Last time I got it they said its no0 longer going to be available, something to do with hazards while mining it so what to do now?
Foot Hill Reptiles

it's around.......that was just one mine......it contained that stuff that causes misophilioma......that doesn't look spelled correctly......but then again I am having trouble spelling the mineral that causes it......

HA!......

.....anyways...try a new store and ask for it.....the one place we got it had it in the back on a shelf.....big bags too......call all and any nursery type supply company......

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That is the only nursery in our area, We live way up in the hills. I will start looking for out of town places and call them. Thanks for all the help. I will keep this clutch in the incubator as long as we can stand it and try harder next year I guess. Both of my females have already been bred once each this year so my luck has run out until 09.
Foot Hill Reptiles

add more perlite
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