Dmnted
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Firstly, sorry for the essay but I thought it is better to give ALL the info I have
I've owned various snakes for 5 years but never bred them before.
This year I decided it was time for breeding and got it right because she dropped a clutch of 22+ eggs 2 days ago with no slugs
Shes 5 years old.
I purchased a recubator incubator which is exactly the same as a exo terra incubator and set up my temps and egg box with vermiculite 50/50 mix 2 days before she layed.
I was surprised how many she layed for a first clutch and luckily I had already thought of various container sizes to fit all the eggs in.
Now to why I need help!
The incubator has a small fan to distribute heat at the bottom of the setup.
The temps down the bottom of the incubator next to the fan are more stable than at the top of the incubator.
I have thermometers inside and ouside the egg box.
Heres how things are going.
Due to the size of the egg container I can use the bottom of the incubator or a shelf half way up.
On the floor of the incubator temps in the incubator range from 31.5 to 32.9
Inside the egg box they range from 30 to 30.5.
On the shelf half way up the temps inside the incubator range from 31.5 to 34
Inside the egg box they range from 28.5 to 29.5.
I decided the more stable temps on the bottom was the go and rotate the egg box every day to avoid the fan cooking eggs on one side of the egg box.
Now I should have candled the eggs before I put them in but after two days of incubation I did this afternoon.
It appears that 2-3 eggs on each side of the egg box which would have been right next to the fan have no veins when I candle them.
Cooked....? hope not but maybe.
Humidity is high with small amounts of condensation on the side of the egg box but nothing on the lid
So...any advice? What would you do?
Do people measure temps inside or outside the egg container ?
I have moved the eggs to the top shelf away from the fan and added a large container of sealed water on the bottom to hopefully stable the temp fluctuations.
Please disregard temps shown in photos attached.
I took them just after the door was open moving the clutch to the second shelf.
Cheers everyone
Update:
After putting a sealed container of water in the bottom of the enclosure the temps are now stable. 31 -32 degrees in the incubator and 29.9 to 30 degrees in the egg box.
To anyone thinking of purchasing an incubator of this style, temperature fluctuation and gradients seem to be an issue when large containers are placed inside due to limited airflow.
The temps displayed on the readout are inacurate and it has a two degree buffer.
For example, if you set the temp to 33 degrees which is measured at the top of the incubator it will reach this temp however, as the temperature drops, it will not start to reheat until it drops to degrees to 31.
The same for cooling, it will not start to cool unless temps go above 35 when it is set at 33.
This fact is noted on the Exo Terra incubator manual so they are not suitable for sensitive eggs.
Firstly, sorry for the essay but I thought it is better to give ALL the info I have
I've owned various snakes for 5 years but never bred them before.
This year I decided it was time for breeding and got it right because she dropped a clutch of 22+ eggs 2 days ago with no slugs
Shes 5 years old.
I purchased a recubator incubator which is exactly the same as a exo terra incubator and set up my temps and egg box with vermiculite 50/50 mix 2 days before she layed.
I was surprised how many she layed for a first clutch and luckily I had already thought of various container sizes to fit all the eggs in.
Now to why I need help!
The incubator has a small fan to distribute heat at the bottom of the setup.
The temps down the bottom of the incubator next to the fan are more stable than at the top of the incubator.
I have thermometers inside and ouside the egg box.
Heres how things are going.
Due to the size of the egg container I can use the bottom of the incubator or a shelf half way up.
On the floor of the incubator temps in the incubator range from 31.5 to 32.9
Inside the egg box they range from 30 to 30.5.
On the shelf half way up the temps inside the incubator range from 31.5 to 34
Inside the egg box they range from 28.5 to 29.5.
I decided the more stable temps on the bottom was the go and rotate the egg box every day to avoid the fan cooking eggs on one side of the egg box.
Now I should have candled the eggs before I put them in but after two days of incubation I did this afternoon.
It appears that 2-3 eggs on each side of the egg box which would have been right next to the fan have no veins when I candle them.
Cooked....? hope not but maybe.
Humidity is high with small amounts of condensation on the side of the egg box but nothing on the lid
So...any advice? What would you do?
Do people measure temps inside or outside the egg container ?
I have moved the eggs to the top shelf away from the fan and added a large container of sealed water on the bottom to hopefully stable the temp fluctuations.
Please disregard temps shown in photos attached.
I took them just after the door was open moving the clutch to the second shelf.
Cheers everyone
Update:
After putting a sealed container of water in the bottom of the enclosure the temps are now stable. 31 -32 degrees in the incubator and 29.9 to 30 degrees in the egg box.
To anyone thinking of purchasing an incubator of this style, temperature fluctuation and gradients seem to be an issue when large containers are placed inside due to limited airflow.
The temps displayed on the readout are inacurate and it has a two degree buffer.
For example, if you set the temp to 33 degrees which is measured at the top of the incubator it will reach this temp however, as the temperature drops, it will not start to reheat until it drops to degrees to 31.
The same for cooling, it will not start to cool unless temps go above 35 when it is set at 33.
This fact is noted on the Exo Terra incubator manual so they are not suitable for sensitive eggs.
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