Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here we go..
1. I hooked up my incubator the other day out of a mini fridge. I notice most people put the heat element (FlexWatt) on either the bottom, back , or equal on both sides of the incubator.. I put mine on the front swing open door on the bottom of it. I used 11inch flexwatt.. Now my temperature from the top of the incubator and the bottom is only about .2 degrees difference.. I had someone tell me installing the flex watt to the door it would be a issue??? I have the probe from the Helix taped to the top back corner of the incubator and I have a wireless digital thermometer also set in the bottom of the incubator.. Since both temperatures are right the incubator should work fine? I didnt feel a fan was necessary due to I know I will be looking at the eggs daily and I left a small hole in the middle back of the fridge just big enough to slide another probe threw... Does this sound like a decent setup?

My females are not being easy to read. I been putting the males with the females since Late September.. I moved from Florida to a cooler state so I took advantage of the temperature change and started a little early..

2. When is the exact time during the breeding cycle do the males fertilize the eggs? Or should I say during what period are the females most receptive? Post Ovulation? After Ovulation? Im alittle confused on the details of the process, I have heard females produce follicles regardless if they are fertile or not.

3. I have heard of females retaining sperm.. I breed a certain morph male to some of my females early in the season he copulated with 6 different girls.. Is it possible for the females to use the built up sperm later in the season?

Any info on this is greatly appreciated. I have did some research and info seems to be limited on specifics......

BTW this is my first season breeding ball pythons.. And none of these snakes have ever been breed before..

Goodluck to all this upcoming season!!!!!

Well first thing I would say is with the door being opened every day as you said you would be doing , with the heat source being on the door you will not be maintaining heating wile the door is open . 2nd the female decides when to fertilize the eggs and it mostly happens when she feels all her concerns are met such as temps and security ,I have had females breed one year and not fertilize her eggs till 6-8 months later, well after the male was pulled and I had given up on her . But that is a extreme . Most will not retain the sperm that long and they will allow fertilization right away .3rd see 2nd answer .ps I also would reconsider the fan , with converted figes. They tend to hold to much moisture and tend to cause the eggs to get bad fudges growth with out a fan to circulate the air . Good luck . David

Well that is a logical answer as far as opening the door daily and the flexwatt being on the door its like removing the heat source.. I had planned on useing water bottles on the empty bottom space and on the top shelfs to help hold and maintain heat.. But I have to agree on what your saying..

My second question what is the fan model I need I heard people on here say you can get it from radio shack how do I install it in the mini fridge does a hole have to be drilled so it blows in the fridge or blows out or is in left inside with no more opening in the fridge.. Next is will the fan from radio shack have the plug to be hooked up to the helix or will I have to do some wiring. .I'm not the most handy person alive..
Thanks in advance any more advice is greatly appreciated!!

Well 1st you don’t need to move a large volume of air , just so that the air is refreshed in a 12-24 hour time , there are several ways to mount one ,you just need a small intake hole and 2 small exhaust holes ( intake near the heat and exhaust one on both sides at opposite of heat . As for as the wiring I would run it off of a separate power source with a simple toggle on-off switch as it would need to be on all the time that it is in operation . A simple computer fan will work . David

there was a guy on here looking for help on his incubator.

i was the one who replied to his questions.

david already explained to you on the door and i had mentioned that to you on your first thread.

as for the fan if you buy at radio shack (look online) (type "fan"in search) you will have to wire it your self.
there's two types you can buy ac or dc.

AC = you can plug it right in to the wall

DC = you will need a ac/dc converter (aka power supply) to power the fan (i would recommend NLT 500Ma to power the fan and you should be good

DO NOT drill more holes into the incubator. get a piece of sheet metal, bend it to 90 degrees attach the fan to it (make sure fan is pointed downwards, to push the air back down)

good luck

Pitoon

forgot to mention try to use existing screws to mount the angle sheet metal, worst case you can use silicone or screw it into place (at the top)

Pitoon

Hi,

I am the guy that pitoon helped as stated earlier. I took his excellent advise and bought a fan from Helix. http://www.helixcontrols.com/Fans.htm I bought the smaller one that was 12V. The transformer has a dimmer so you can adjust the speed. Also if you talk with Jeff at Helix he will be very helpful on how to install it. It will have cost almost the same as the radio shack fan but the Helix one can withstand a little more moisture. Good luck and I help that helps.

Bill

>>Well that is a logical answer as far as opening the door daily and the flexwatt being on the door its like removing the heat source.. I had planned on useing water bottles on the empty bottom space and on the top shelfs to help hold and maintain heat.. But I have to agree on what your saying..
>>
>>My second question what is the fan model I need I heard people on here say you can get it from radio shack how do I install it in the mini fridge does a hole have to be drilled so it blows in the fridge or blows out or is in left inside with no more opening in the fridge.. Next is will the fan from radio shack have the plug to be hooked up to the helix or will I have to do some wiring. .I'm not the most handy person alive..
>> Thanks in advance any more advice is greatly appreciated!!

in mine i just used a zip tie and hooked it to the shelf it is in there just to move the air your best bet is to go to radio shack get a small computer fan i used one that was like 2 inces then tell the person working you need a power converter to hook that fan to (its a normal plug like a cell phone or computer speaker or printer would have but they all have different amps and all so you need the right one) anyway here they range from $10-30 depending on what one when you get home you cut the end off and expose the wire and splice it together one on the red one on the black then use electrical tape to cover the wires back up then you can plug it right into the wall
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reed at www.ReedsDragons.com & www.KillerEnclosures.com

if you have an old blown up computer power supply......usually the fans are still in ok condition.

they are usually 12V, only hard part is that you have to open it up and remove the fana and dust

good luck

Pitoon