Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here is a pic of my setup with my new eggs in it. The box is a sterilite with the lockdown handles. Two pics of the box attached as well.

The box lid does allow a bit of air into it as it does not seal. I think this is plenty of air but I want to be sure as this is my first clutch of BP eggs.

Does my setup look good?

Do my boxes need a bit more airflow?

Thank you

Kevin

What is the humidity in their, and is there water in the bottom of the box?

I have about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom with about an inch clearance between the water and egg platform.

I have no way to measure the humidity but I have almost zero condensation in the box. I think my humidity is perfect.

I usually do not use vent holes in these boxes for my colubrid eggs but these are big eggs. I think they get plenty of air through the slight gap between the box lid and box but I want to be sure BP eggs do not need more.

Kevin

Your setup looks fine. I really wouldn't worry about airflow or air exchange too much. If you open the box for a minute or so once a week they'll be fine.

Unless your egg boxes are completely 100% air tight, you won't need to add air holes. Even those shoe boxes that have a tight seal still allow some air exchange.

I would suggest picking up a hygrometer. Even a cheap one is better than nothing. You should be able to find one that also has a thermometer on it also.

I use a digital thermometer/hygrometer combination. It has two probes and an external readout. I usually place this in the egg box that is in the center of my incubator. The only hole or gap in my egg boxes is the one I made to fit these probes into the box.

Using this device along with my temp gun allows me to keep a better eye on my eggs and setup. Usually the egg boxes that do not have the thermometer probe in them have only about 1/10 to 1/2 of a degree temperature difference.

Using water only in your setup is fine, but when you add water be careful not to splash. This is the main reason I add perlite or vermiculite under my egg crate. It helps to reduce splashing when I add extra water (using the no substrate method allows you to add as much water as you want so there is no measuring or ratios to worry about). Also, I have three kids and sometimes they do bump my incubator, even though it is in a safe room, mixing in the substrate gives me one less thing to worry about. I've also found that the water evaporates slower in this type of setup.

Don't take this the wrong way. Mixing substrate is just an option, not a requirement. Personal preference dictates whether you decide to use it or not. From what I can see your setup is just fine.
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Stay United!

"...I say 'apparently' because despite all our progress she is not at all a tame or handle-able snake and gettting her from that cage would re-start a war.. and we've had a good armistice for several months now."-Gus Rentfro - I love this quote!

Thank you very much for the great info. I will try some vermiculite in the bottom.

Kevin

I put plastic between the lid and the egg box, as I found that the non air tight lid let too much humidity out. My only ventilation is a small hole on each side, and I open the box usually once a week to check the eggs.
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Snakes:
1.1 gray banded kingsnake
1.1 california kingsnake
1.1 kenyan sand boa
1.1 western hognose snake
0.1 albino checkered garter
1.0 florida blue garter
1.1 het anery red sided garter
1.1 reverse oketee corn snake
1.1 blood red corn snake
0.1 amel striped corn
1.0 amel 66% het striped corn
1.1 het albino ball python
1.1 het ghost ball python
0.1 spider ball python
1.0 pastel ball python
1.1 mojave ball python
1.0 butter ball python
0.1 ringer ball python
1.0 African dinker ball python
0.3 normal ball python
1.0 piebald ball python
0.1 het piebald ball python
0.1 Genetic Stripe Ball Python
1.0 Het Genetic Stripe Ball Python
0.1 Mystic Ball Python

Turtles
1-eastern box turtle
2-spotted turtle
2-eastern/midland painted turtle intergrade
1.0-common musk turtle
1-Pink bellied sideneck
6-Northern red belly

Invertebrates
0.1 southern black widow
1-Tanzanian Giant Tailless whipscorpion

Amphibians
0.1 Ornate Horned Frog

Birds:
1.1 red avadavit
2-blue breasted cordon blue
1.1-black cheeked waxbill
0.1-star finch
1.0-Java rice sparrow
2.0-owl finch
1.0-hybrid munia
0.1-White bellied caique

Fish
2-corydoras cats
1-African upside down cat

normal stuff
0.1 black lab

How big is your egg container? I too will be expecting my first clutch of BP eggs and I don't know what size container I'll need for the eggs.

Thanks,
Jim

The box in the photo is 16 inches long by 7 inches wide. It's about 7 inches tall. This size box fits about 8-10 eggs.

There is the next size up that will hold bigger clutches.

They are sterilite brand.

Kevin

The bigger and the deeper the egg box is, the more water ( vermiculite) can be added, so you have more chance of getting a higher humidity. Might not be needed, but that's where I am going.
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