Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I made an incubator yesterday out of a polystyrene box and two small heat mats, these are connected to a thermostat. I set the temperature of the thermostat to 85F and i put a large water bowl on the bottom of the box, i left it for around 5-6 hours and the temp was 82-86F and the humidity was 85-90%. Is this ok for incubating Corn eggs? i obviously have to put a plastic container inside with the eggs and some vermiculite.
Do i cover the egs completely in vermiculite or just half way?
Is it best to put a lid on the plastic container with some air holes in?
If i obviously make the vermiculite damp, will it stay damp if i keep the humidity up or will i have to wet the vermiculite? if so how often?
If i put the eggs in a plastic container with the lid on and holes in the sides will this bew ok for when the eggs hatch? so the snakes dont escape.

Sounds like you're pretty set there. I just plugged in my hovabator this morning to get it set up for when she lays

I use the 3" deep deli cups that I get pre-punched and with clear lids. I've only done this last year, and am about to do it again, so I'm not an expert...But here's what I did.

I filled the deli cups about 1/4 with damp vermiculite, then put in as many eggs as would fit nicely, and then added more damp vermiculite around each one so only about 10-15% of the egg was showing. Then I put the lids on. If the cups have holes in them, you can use the lids and it will keep the vermiculite in the cup damp. I never needed to add water once they were in the deli cups with the lids on.

They can hatch out right in the cups and you'll probably be able to smell it when they start to hatch. Yep SMELL it! lol I was told this last year and wasn't sure about it, but every once in a while I would smell green peppers, so I'd look in the incubator, and sure enough, another one had poked through the shell! It even happened when my sister-in-law was here one time. She asked me which cat just made that awful smell?...LOL I said it wasn't a cat, it was a snake....and we looked and saw another little nose.

Have fun, are you as excited to wait as I am? lol
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
6.7 Cornsnakes
1.3 Cats
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

they smell like green peppers! Thought it was mostly just me!

When I first heard it was before any had pipped, so I just thought he was a weirdo. But one day I was sitting at my computer in the same room as the incubator and it was overpowering! lol, When I looked to see if it was really them, there were two noses sticking out. And after that each time one pipped through the shell, there would be a huge "fog" of green pepper stink. lol I like green peppers, but not for their smell!
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
6.7 Cornsnakes
1.3 Cats
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

it did kinda smell that way for me too. thats too funny. I had one year where I had an incubator plugged into an outlet that was controlled by a light switch...ugh..what an awful mess that was...i think a 3 day drop in temps contributed to a few born with kinks. its just so prehistoric watching them hatch...kinda always reminds me of that scene in jurassic park w/the veloceraptor hatching. lol
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www.members.aol.com/northeastsnakes

I think so too. With every whiff of green peppers I had to go watch as someone poked their nose out. It is really neat watching them hatch. Hard to believe those little wormies broke through the shell, much less are about to eat a newborn mouse! lol
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
6.7 Cornsnakes
1.3 Cats
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

Yes, that temperature and humidity level is perfect! Although, they could be incubated at a little lower temperature just to be on the safe side.

No, do not cover the eggs, just make them a bed. Make an indention with your finger and lay them in it so that half to 3/4 of the egg has vermiculite/perlite around it.

No, do not put any holes in the polysterine box. It will allow heat and humity to excape. You don't want that. You want it to maintain a constant temperature, as constant as possible. You don't really need to put holes in the deli cups either...just open them and close them every few days.

>I made an incubator yesterday out of a polystyrene box and two small heat mats, these are connected to a thermostat. I set the temperature of the thermostat to 85F and i put a large water bowl on the bottom of the box, i left it for around 5-6 hours and the temp was 82-86F and the humidity was 85-90%. Is this ok for incubating Corn eggs? i obviously have to put a plastic container inside with the eggs and some vermiculite.

Sounds all right to me. I generally put the eggs in a shoebox (without top) full of Vermiculite, which goes inside a covered sweather box (no holes) with some water on the bottom, which goes inside the incubator. The sweater box is my humidity chamber, which is inside the heating chamber. You are combining the humidity chamber and heating chamber into one. Bearing that difference in mind, here are my opinions.

>Do i cover the egs completely in vermiculite or just half way?

Your choice. Both work. I prefer to bury the eggs with just a bit of the top side of the top eggs showing.

>Is it best to put a lid on the plastic container with some air holes in?

In your setup, yes. You'll still want to check the eggs on a weekly basis.

>If i obviously make the vermiculite damp, will it stay damp if i keep the humidity up or will i have to wet the vermiculite? if so how often?

High humidity will retard dehydration of the Vermiculite but not stop it. Be prepared to rewet it when the eggs start to dimple. When that happens depends on how deep you put the eggs in, how wet you make the Vermiculite, and how fast the Vermiculite loses water.

A ratio of 1:1 Vermiculite to water by weight (not volume) is pretty commonly used. Too much water can drown the eggs, and too little water causes dehydration and eventual death. It's a balancing act.

A snake egg has a leathery shell, not a hard, brittle shell like a chicken egg. A well-hydrated egg is plump and firm. When dehydration sets in, the shell will dimple in on the side or top. Then I pull the eggs out of the Vermiculite and add around 50% as much water as I originally used. And in a day or so the egg has plumped out again.

>If i put the eggs in a plastic container with the lid on and holes in the sides will this bew ok for when the eggs hatch? so the snakes dont escape.

Yes. If you use rubber bands or something to keep the babies from pushing the top off. And the holes must be too small for the babies to crawl through.

Good luck.

Paul Hollander

I would run it for a week or two without eggs, just in case. I would also be ready in case the thermostat isn't good enough to stay on track if the temps in your room start getting warmer as the spring wears on. As long as nothing happens to allow the mats to cook the eggs, it should work fine.

Good luck!