Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I use a very accurate thermostat that keeps temps within a constant 1deg variance. Does anyone use a spare shelf in their rack to incubate? What temp is the ideal temperature for Florida Kings? Also, one more question please. What substrate is the most popular for the laying box for the female?

i have not used a snake rack but i have heard that it can be done. i use an incubator set at 80-82 degrees F but some excellent brooksi breeders incubate their eggs on a shelf in the warm spot of the room. most common materials used as nest box substrate are vermiculite, perlite and sphagnum moss, maybe some others. vermiculite is very messy, you'll be cleaning it out of the cage for months, though i still prefer to incubate with it. i have been using sphagnum moss in the nest box the last two seasons with good results, others will have different methods that work too. it is hard to screw up a clutch of fertile eggs.
keep us informed of your progress.
dB

Kingsnake eggs can tolerate a varience in temps. I've tested this a bit, and hatched eggs kept at constant 80, constant 82, relatively constant 75, and then one batch in a room with daytime highs up to 84 and nightime drops into the low 70s. All hatched. Pretty darn hard to mess up. Humidity was more the issue for me. So yes, whether it is a drawer, shelf or whatever, if the conditions are tolerable, they will hatch.

you've gotten very good advice from mark and dave--and uncharacteristically, for the forums, both acknowledge there are multiple ways that will work: that's a point all too often overlooked when people assume something works for them therefore MUST be the only right way, and others--and their ways--be damned!

what i like about racks (I incubate on shelves in my snake room) is there's nothing electrical to malfunction and cook the eggs. I keep the room at 80; the eggs are at 80; barring an extended power outage, which here in west-central florida could spike temps to 100 in my room, it's a nice stable environment. And if that did happen, i could always move the eggs to a friend's house where the a/c was still working. The bigger worry would be the snakes themselves.

With eggs, I've heard a lot of horror stories about people whose incubators malfunctioned & cooked their season, in one instance tens of thousands of dollars of python eggs. So if you do rely on an incubator, be sure it's working right and eliminate as many as possible of the things that could go wrong!

peace
terry dunham
albino tricolors
st pete florida