Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the best incubator for corn snake eggs? I have heard many good things about Hovabotor, but which model would work? Also, any opinions about the ReptiPro 6000?
Thanks for the help.
-----
[url=http://www.six-dragons.com" target="_blank">[/url]

You do not need to spend alot of money for cornsnake egg incubation, as you do not need to hold precise temperatures for them. It will not hurt to do so, but it is just not necessary. If you can keep the eggs in the range of 78-82 deg, then you are fine. I have hatched them just leaving a container of them in a room even when nightime drops were in the low 70s.

A Hovabator will be fine. So will a styrene foam ice chest with a heater (heat pad or heat rope) and a temperature controller. The key is to not use too much heater so that the incubator can accidently be an oven. You need to experiment with, for example with heat rope, how much length of rope you have in the box - if making your own incubator. Hovabators already have the appropriate-sized heater, so you are good there. I would still use a backup thermostat with the Hovabator just in case. Even that $40 ON/OFF controller sold in pet stores is fine in this case. I have used a proportional controller with a Hovabator (set the included thermostat to about 84 as a high temp cutoff, then use to proportional to actually control the heater to around 80-82 deg). Works very well.

More important is the hydration of the eggs. You do not want them too wet or too dry, though again cornsnake eggs are not overly sensitive and can easily withstand a little too much moisture for a short time or too little moisture for a short time as long as corrections are made withing a reasonable time.

The expensive incubators are very nice, no doubt, and they do hold lots of eggs. I'm not saying not to get one. Rather, I am saying for a clutch or two of cornsnake eggs, there are less expensive ways to get the job done. Of course, a good proportional controller is $100, so even a home-made incubator can cost some money.

Thank you so much for the insight on a homemade one. This is just my first clutch and I want it to go right, lol.

Is there a certain Hovabator model you would recommend, or are they all fair game?
-----
[url=http://www.six-dragons.com" target="_blank">[/url]

There is one model with a small fan to keep the temp more consistent throughout the cavity, and there is a model without the fan. I used the "no fan" model in the past for kingsnake eggs, and it was just fine.

Just incubate them in the linen closet, or any other closet where the door doesn't get open much. Colubird eggs will hatch at lower that suggested temperatures. Just remember the lower the incubation temps, the longer the incubation period will be.

Use a 1 to 1 ratio by weight of asbestos free vermiculite to water for your nest box substrait.

Good luck
-----
Brian Gundy

www.for-goodness-snakes.com