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incubator question

oursnakes May 31, 2014 11:12 AM

I am expecting to have some clutches laid very soon. I should have some,Hondurans,Knobolichi,Graybands,Deserts and corns. Does anybody have any suggestions on a good temp and humidity level?
Thanks

Replies (1)

AaronBayer Jun 02, 2014 09:48 AM

I've always had great results with keeping them in a warm room.

As a kid i would have stacks of plastic containers filled with eggs just sitting in a corner of my bedroom. my father was an A/C nazi and kept the house warmish (mid-high 70s) and my eggs always hatched for corns, everglades rats, desert kings, and cal kings.

now I put the incubation tubs on the top shelves near the ceiling of some shelving units in my snake room. I check the temp from time to time and the highest i've seen it is 83 and the coolest is 72. seems to stay around 77-78 quite a bit though.

I think the prefered temps for most colubrid eggs are 78-82 if kept in a incubator.

As far as humidity... i just watch the eggs. if they look like they are going to pop, i'll leave the lid off for a few hours. If they dimple, i'll add some water. i've never measured humidity or used water:substrate ratios by weight like a lot of people, I just make sure the substrate is a little moist and then check the eggs once a week or so. Its rare that I have to make any adjustments though.

currently i have incubation tubs that are about 6" tall. I put 3" of perlite in the tub then poured in water until the water level was about 1" high. then I layed a thin layer of sphagnum moss on top of the perlite and misted it really well, then placed the eggs on top of that. I've got eggs ranging from about 35 days old to 3 days old in those containers. all look good and I havent had to make any adjustments.

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