Incubator question

[Lockie]

Hi everyone,

Its 6:30am and i'm sitting here with my coffee... thinking of python stuff.

I had an idea - i'm not sure how much of a problem this is for all the python breeders out there, but...

- Anti-fog for your car windscreen.. if this didn't have any bad chemicals in it, could you put it on the inside of your incubator containers (especially on the lid) to stop condensation from forming?

Otherwise, i've heard you can 'draw' on your bathroom mirror with a bar of soap, then polish it in and it will have the same effect... do you think this would be a safe way of stopping condensation from forming?

Just an idea. I'm sure that when I finally wake up at 8am it'll sound crappy and i'll be embarrassed.

haha....

regards,
Lockie

[hazzard]

You could always lift the lid and wipe the condensation off!

I wouldn't do it but by all means try it and let us know what happens. If your getting too much condensation then your media is too wet IMO.

[TrueBlue]

if you have that much condensation on the lid of the egg containers, youve got far to much moisture in there in the first place.
The most condensation that you want to see is a tiny fine bit up the sides and a touch on the lid. This will hatch out any of our pythons, infact alot of species need only this amount, ie bhps, olives etc, any more will kill alot of species eggs. IMO the 50/50 ratio is far to much, some species will hatch using this ratio, but it is definitley not need and just adds another risk of lossing eggs.

[falconboy]

Agreed with whats said.

I'll also add, although they were beardie eggs, in my bar fridge incubator I did not get any condensation on the lids or sides of the containers at all using a slightly less than 50/50 ratio, and had 100% hatching rate. I was worried the hole time however and was checking the eggs constantly! So theres no need for really wet medium.

[Pythoninfinite]

There are a few variables which affect the amount of condensation and its distribution in an eggbox. I agree with trueblue that in most circumstances 50/50 is too wet for Australian snakes, especially as the vermiculite already has a large amount of water in it when you purchase it - and unless you oven dry it before you weigh it this just adds to the moisture content. In the small closed eggbox space, it takes very little moisture to reach an almost saturated humidity level.

The location of the incubator heat source is the single most contributory factor as far as eggbox lid condensation is concerned. If the heat source is ABOVE the eggbox, the lid will always be the warmest part and will NOT allow condensation to form. If your heat source is underneath the eggbox and you are heating from below, the lid will be the coolest part and will attract condensation.

Most of the early incubators used lightglobes for heat and they were placed above the eggboxes. These days with heat cords, mats, ceramic heaters etc, it is easy to place the heatsource anywhere you want. All work well as long as you are mindful of the possibility of condensation and the probs it may cause.

As far as the wetting agents go - (soap etc...) - they actually don't stop the condensation forming, they just allow the droplets to coalesce into a smooth film, so it is feasible that you could get water dripping onto your eggs without being aware of the buildup. I wouldn't recommend it.

I notice in Hazzard's avatar he may be using the "no substrate" method (eggs suspended over water) - I actually converted to that method this year with excellent results. I also used the same eggboxes as he illustrates - from Woolies, they even come with their own suspension tray and air hole!

Jamie.

[Paliadon]

I'd say with that much moisture on the lid you have way too much moisture in the air. Maybe cut back on the water and all should be good. The eggs will go "off" if they are too moist. Mould loves moist areas and is a big pain for breeders.