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entire clutch is starting to go bad they were all nice and healthy looking now they are all starting to turn odd colors and just look bad. I saw nice big veins through all of them. Looks like i wont be getting a sterling bee this year after all. This is very depressing.

cheer up charlie.....there's always next year.

you win some...you loose some

Pitoon

>>entire clutch is starting to go bad they were all nice and healthy looking now they are all starting to turn odd colors and just look bad. I saw nice big veins through all of them. Looks like i wont be getting a sterling bee this year after all. This is very depressing.
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I'm in a similar boat.
I 2 normal females to my pastel and one to my pastel and cinny.
One of the females that bred the pastel has laid...that's it.
5 eggs.

So all the cinnies and pastels I was hoping for...not happening.

I'm just hoping the one that bred the cinny lays late...I can deal with the other female not laying, but I want my female cinnies dangit!
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

Hey Bud,

Don't pitch them out until they rot and stink. I have seen some pretty moldy eggs hatch out beautiful babies.

Did you provide at least some oxygen exchange? The more the eggs develop the higher the O2 demand. A sealed container can use up all of the O2 in a hurry. I open mine to exchange the air at least once a week.

Lee

I'm so sorry to hear that. But I too have heard not to give up hope, miracles happen everyday.
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This is courage.. to bear unflinching what heaven sends. -unknown

1.0 Basset Hound (Capone)
1.1 cats (San Quinton and Gracie)

I open and air egg containers everyday. I've also had some pretty moldy eggs produce viable babies.....don't give up yet!

Susan
SSNAKES

I check my eggs daily I used a hova bator incubator never done me wrong so I stick with them. I lift the lid and spray fresh reverse osmosis water on the substrate.

Are you using a substrate and if so what?

My first and only clutch so far is quickly going the same route.

I haven't been able to find Vermiculite since the health scare and now the only perlite I can find is Miracle Grow brand. I checked and it seems to have only trace amounts of fertilizer and claims non toxic so I gave it a try. Once I started smelling bad eggs (have never had them actually stink like dead before) quick switched them to the very last of an old Vermiculite bag I had overlooked. Not sure it was the Miracle Grow Perlite to blame but the bad ones are on the bottom layer with the most contact.

If I can't find any for sure pure perlite I might have to try the substrateless method for the rest of my clutches this year.

Hey Randy,

I have heard from several people that they really love the hatch-rite. Although pricey when looking at the overall picture it is cheap compared to a clutch of BP eggs that go bad from bad media!!!

ie: the person losing a clutch from a pewter x bumblee bee.
silver streak bee, silver streak, pewter bees super pastels, killer bees, cinnamon, bumble bees. pastels the list is endless.

NOW weigh the cost of a bag of hatch rite to even a single male pastel. Let alone the others!!!! Well worth the extra few bucks huh???

I have a 40gal bag of coarse grade vermiculite I am using. But the statement above reminds me of its value to production ratio.

JM2CW
Lee Van Hyfte

I made the mistake of using Miracle-gro perlite last year. It didn't even dawn on me that it had fertilizer in it. I know, I know,DDDDUUUUHHH!
Anyway, I lost almost 40 eggs to mold before I realized what was happening. Using hatch-rite this year and getting a lot of denting but at least they are hatching.

Good luck to all!
John Yezbak

I was afraid the Miracle-gro perlite was to blame. I'm sure it's great for its intended purpose with plants but the package labeling isn't clear. I had my doubts but fell for the "non toxic" part.

So I take it this hatch-rite is something that has to be ordered and shipped? Anyone know of a major chain that caries anything other than Miracle-gro? I'd really like to just be able to drive somewhere but I've already exhausted Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, and Home Depot in my town and it looks like Miracle-gro has the market totally covered. With its prevalence I’m worried that a lot of others might be making the same mistake this year.

I used vermiculite this year for the first time due to not being able to find perelite that didn't have stuff added to it...
worked great so far, though my eggs are not actually IN it.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

Where did you find the Vermiculite? That's actually my preference but I thought they had stopped selling it due to risk to humans breathing the dust. Hey, better me than my eggs, lol, just don’t inhale.

I'm going substrateless this year but I did see my usual mega bag of peralite at home depo same as I used last year... maybe its cause I'm out west? I can look for vermec and ship ya a bag if I can find it Randy... let me know if you want me to look around...

Brian

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Brian Hettinger
480 Pythons
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I'm in Colorado (mid west? Chicago is east, right?) but for some reason can't find anything other than the Miracle Grow at my Lowes and Home Depot. I did hear that the Ace Hardware in town still caries vermiculite so will likely go that way. I did buy a florescent light diffuser so may also get my feet (but hopefully not my eggs) wet with that this year. Those diffusers are sort of expensive but I can see the advantage of not having to find good substrate year after year and mix it right, I'm just always nervous about a change.

Randy,
Any large nursery should normally carry both vermiculite and perlite. If they don't carry it, they should be able to order it for you.
Grant

For 15 years I have used a combo of vermiculite and perlite mixed with water. I follow the formula presented by SK in theirs and Mark Seward's "Breeding Ball Pythons" video, (10 cups vermiculite, 5 cups perlite and 3 cups water). It works perfect for me every year. I find the vermiculite and perlite at any local nursery, Ace Hardware, Lowes or Home Depot store. As far as the dust involved in mixing the perlite....ALWAYS do it outside. I mix up a big batch enough for ten or more egg boxes and keep it in the incubator to heat to correct temps. When each new clutch arrives, I put 8 cups of egg mix in the box and collect eggs. Works Great!

Susan
SSNAKES

I used sphagnum moss normally I use vermiculite.