Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Can someone please post some pics of some eggs incubating on the substrateless method? Or on egg crates? I am just trying to get a feel for it. Or can someone tell me where to look for it? I checked the photo tab above but don't see any categories for it.

Thanks for keeping it interesting!!! V/R Paige
-----
1.1 cinnamons, 1.1 pastels, .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1.1 super pastel, .3 normals, 1. lesser, .1 black pastel, .1 pinstripe .1 rosy boa, 1.1 gophers, 2.1 kids, 1. hubby and a bunch of other animals

here are some pics to give you an idea......

Pitoon

>>Hello,
>> Can someone please post some pics of some eggs incubating on the substrateless method? Or on egg crates? I am just trying to get a feel for it. Or can someone tell me where to look for it? I checked the photo tab above but don't see any categories for it.
>>
>> Thanks for keeping it interesting!!! V/R Paige
>>-----
>>1.1 cinnamons, 1.1 pastels, .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1.1 super pastel, .3 normals, 1. lesser, .1 black pastel, .1 pinstripe .1 rosy boa, 1.1 gophers, 2.1 kids, 1. hubby and a bunch of other animals

-----
Homepage
My BLOG
2011 European Shows

Your 2nd picture looks like the water is almost to the top of the egg crate.

no water was at the bottom of the grate, the reflection makes it look like it's at the top.

i usually use two pieces of grate, just didn't have enough at that time.

at the end of the season i rinse out the vermiculite, drain it as best as i can without loosing much medium. then i spread it out in a huge tub to dry outside in the summer sun. when dry all goes back into a huge ziplock bag for the next season.

Pitoon

>>Your 2nd picture looks like the water is almost to the top of the egg crate.
-----
Homepage
My BLOG
2011 European Shows

why rinse the medium?, it's basically rock as you know, so it won't rot, yet the junk and yolk and all the stuff you don't want in it will rot...so...let it wet and let the bad stuff rot out...then just open the top of box or whatever it's in...and it will dry out as much as you need.....I just let mine in the incubators or boxes....most dry out after 10 months or whatever...a couple were actually damp....I fluff it, add if needed and rewet it all....I used to throw it out for a couple years...then I got smart ? or lazy....?...it's still a rock...

I use perlite mixed with vermic, large and or small vermic ,or all three mixed.......

good luck.....!...have fun !!!

(oh, I take eggs out as soon as they pip ,so the medium is not all crusty actually )....
-----
........JY

There are many ways to BBQ my friend!!!

…but yes you are right there really is no reason to rinse. I just feel more comfortable if I know that I’m using somewhat clean medium. Once I put it in the sun to dry it’s bone dry within a day or two.

I’m a serious pack rat and find it hard to throw something away knowing it still has a usable life.

Pitoon

>>why rinse the medium?, it's basically rock as you know, so it won't rot, yet the junk and yolk and all the stuff you don't want in it will rot...so...let it wet and let the bad stuff rot out...then just open the top of box or whatever it's in...and it will dry out as much as you need.....I just let mine in the incubators or boxes....most dry out after 10 months or whatever...a couple were actually damp....I fluff it, add if needed and rewet it all....I used to throw it out for a couple years...then I got smart ? or lazy....?...it's still a rock...
>>
>>I use perlite mixed with vermic, large and or small vermic ,or all three mixed.......
>>
>>good luck.....!...have fun !!!
>>
>>(oh, I take eggs out as soon as they pip ,so the medium is not all crusty actually )....
>>-----
>>........JY
-----
Homepage
My BLOG
2011 European Shows

I'll probably take after you and save my vermiculate for next season so I don't need to buy another bag. Not a terrible idea.
-----
"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)

Remove the eggs before pipping and none of the egg goo gets on the egg crate or in the mixture.

Paige,
Here is the picture you e-mailed me about.
Some people lay the egg crate on top of the mixture. Use a couple pieces of egg crate if you do it that way. I use short pieces of pvc to hold the egg crate above the mixture.

Thanks Guys!!!! Perfect, that is exactly what I was looking for because hopefully I will have some more eggs here soon and I am going to use this method!

Mike - You must have a huge incubator or many huge incubators because that is a boatload of eggs!!! Wow! Nice!! Did I mention I only have 8 eggs. LOL!
-----
1.1 cinnamons, 1.1 pastels, .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1.1 super pastel, .3 normals, 1. lesser, .1 black pastel, .1 pinstripe .1 rosy boa, 1.1 gophers, 2.1 kids, 1. hubby and a bunch of other animals

I have several incubators that are 4 ft wide, 2 feet deep, 8 feet tall. I bred Burmese for a living for almost 15 years. I had 900 eggs one year, most years 600-800 eggs. Burmese are harder than balls, burms thermo regulate and I think they have closer temp requirements. I only need one incubator now, I usually have close to 100 clutches, this year I should have more if things go well. It is a lot easier to put many clutches in one box. I put them in individual shoeboxes with wet newspaper before they pip. It used to take 1/2 day once a week to check on all the eggs and adjust water in vermiculite, now I don't even hardly look at them. I open boxes once a week or so to let in fresh air. You need a box with a tight lid, some cover the box with saran wrap and then put the lid on.
Mike

This is what my egg boxes look like

-----
www.jasonrbartolettreptiles.webs.com

Thank you all again. That is exactly what I wanted to see.
I only have the small little incubator(little all in one from LLL Reptile) so will be improvising some and was trying to get a feel for a good setup that doesn't harm the eggs/babies.

I was reading Mike Bell's reply and it said to saran wrap under the lid. Is that standard? I also saw to let air in once a week into the container so no air hole but to make sure and get an air exchange. Would that still work in my little containers that are maybe half of a 6 quart tub?

V/R Paige
-----
1.1 cinnamons, 1.1 pastels, .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1.1 super pastel, .3 normals, 1. lesser, .1 black pastel, .1 pinstripe .1 rosy boa, 1.1 gophers, 2.1 kids, 1. hubby and a bunch of other animals

I use the little Iris shoe boxes. None of the commercially available shoe/sweater boxes aren't air tight unless they have latches or something. They can go the full 55 days without being disturbed. It doesn't hurt them to have fresh air once or twice during incubation though. I've also stacked them 2 high on top of each other with no problems. Fresh air obviously enters the incubator whenever you open the door. I use vermiculite though but, the Iris boxes could easily easily be made to work with the medium-less incubation method.

I use 120 fluid ounces (I use drinking cups) and 32 ounces of water and its the perfect mixture for us. I don't have to add extra water unless a box gets too close to a fan or something.

Should have read "None of the commercially available shoe/sweater boxes are air tight unless they have latches or something."

You'll probably get several different answers on this, but I use a piece of plastic (saran wrap also works) between the top of the box and the lid. I found that without this, the box doesn't retain humidity, the water just evaporates out. I drill a total of 2 small holes in the box, one on each end. The holes are just big enough to allow my thermostat probe to fit through. this allows enough air exchange that you could, in theory, not open the box for the entire incubation period. I do open the boxes every week or 2 just to check on things, and I open them daily when it's close to hatching time.
-----
www.jasonrbartolettreptiles.webs.com