Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive put together an incubator a simple 20 gal with bricks water tubaware container ontop of bricks,water heater,thermometer,hygrometer,and im using spam moss,the only qestion i got is should the top of the aqarium itself have a solid top or a top with holes in it...ive just got eggs coming soon and i want to make sure i got it right...thanks a lot

Most of us don't use an incubator for colubrid eggs, including Indigo eggs. Most colubrids I incubate in plastic shoeboxes with a mixture of vermiculite and water at a 1:1 ratio by weight. I just put them on a shelf in the snake room that stays at a fairly constant temperature between 85 degrees F. during the day and maybe 78 or so at night. For Drymarchon eggs I use the same sort of incubator and keep it at a slightly lower temp, maybe 78-79 days and 75 nights.

As far as your setup. I think if i were going to use something like that, I would opt for the screen to to allow ventilation and keep the eggs from getting too wet. I think you are better off to err a little on the dry side than to get them too damp.

Maybe Dean will chime in here, too...I think he uses damp towels.

thanks gus you have helped me out a bunch thank you very much...

bosc1973

Worst hatching ratio I ever got was setting up a complicated incubation system, set up a large cooler with a heater in water at the bottom, eggs in a ventilated container on a platform above, stable temp, what I thought was good humidity, didn't work very well. Went back to a box on a shelf in an area with the temp I want, a lot more success. You can get too fancy, I should have stuck with what worked in the past.

I agree 100% with the concensus that you do not need to get elaborate.

I keep them in plastic boxes with a slightly dampened cloth (like a white t-shirt) below and on top of them.

if they dent, they are either infertile, or it's too dry.

If they start to swell in certain areas or develop lumps on (especially on the bottom) or if the shell starts to feel "soft" or gets clear in spots..they are probably too damp.

This is the "advanced" method I use to control humidity.
As for temp, I have them in a heated room, and I have a vertical shelf system (like a showbox rack) set up with about 8 levels.

I put a thermometer on each level. I shoot for 76-79 F, 78 I consider ideal. I don't panic unless they get above 80. Above 80 is bad. I'd rather see 72 than 82.

So...whichever shelf is the temp I need is the shelf the eggs go on. It fluctuates a bit and I check them almost daily, but for the most part they are always between 76 and 79F.

I've had good resutls this way.
Good luck!