Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys, recently I have decided to give breeding a shot. I want to try breeding california king snakes. I know that i have a lot of research to do fist, but the one thing i can't seem to decide on, is what type of incubator to use. I've looked and cheap ones like Hova Bators and Reptibators, as well as more expensive digital incubators like the Reptiro 6000. I have read mixed reviews for almost every incubator I've looked at online. If anyone could give me some advice that would be great.

my favorite part of the hobby was to incubate eggs, everything else was just OK, lol

here are two books you can look for

incubation of reptile eggs by gunther kohler krieger publishing 2005

reptilian incubation environment evolution and behavior edited by d.c. deeming
nottingham university press 2004

neither book is a pushover, the chapters in the second book are more "scholarly"...

if you are at all handy you can build your own incubator, get all the sensors, heaters, fans, digital recording equipment you want. i built this box based on plans i saw on john hollister's website. i am no carpenter but this box hatched everything i put in it for many years.

good luck!
daveb

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alcohol, tobacco and firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency

i don't use an incubator. never have.

i just put the eggs in the warmest room when it's cold out and the coolest room (basement) when it's hot outside.

figure it's closer to what they're have in nature. incubation take about 77-94 days on average and 90% take frozen thawed pinkies for their first meal.
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i work with tri-colored west mexican lampropeltis. some morph, some hobby, and some locale.

everyone is entitled to their options, but no one's opinion will ever change how i feel about the snakes i keep and breed.

Hova Bators work well for me. Keep in cool place, I fill bottom with water, set temps to 80 - 82 degrees, cover containers with sran wrap and poke about 6-8 vent holes in it. make sure the sran wrap does not touch the eggs. Colubrids hatch rate about 60 days, +/- 10 days. I have small pieces of plate glass to cover each container when they start hatching to prevent escape.
Good Luck, Bob B

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R.Bichlers Colubrids
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rbichler/index.html

Thanks, ill probably go with the Hova Bator. Is there a certain model you would suggest? and also what kind of substrate do you use for the egg boxes?

>>Thanks, ill probably go with the Hova Bator. Is there a certain model you would suggest? and also what kind of substrate do you use for the egg boxes?

You want to use the deepest one, but I think there all about the same. I think this is the model number; 1602 N
and I use vermiculite for the egg boxes, try to find the more coarse vermiculite, I think it works better for air circulation around the eggs.

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R.Bichlers Colubrids
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rbichler/index.html