Considering maternal incubation...

[JulieInNJ]

I've been doing some serious investigation and consideration for the upcoming breeding season. Now let me say, I'm a first time breeder, so I have no experience whatsoever.

Here's my situation. I live in a small, old house. I have a mini fridge in my garage ready to be converted, but it dawned on me that space may be of significant concern. I'm also worried about the electricity; I know I'd only be running flex watt, etc., but in the areas I have enough room for a mini fridge, finding an outlet that's not attached to a light switch would be a real problem (told you my house was old!).

So that leads me to 2 possibilities:

1. Purchasing a small incubator. The size would be great, but I wouldn't get more than 2 clutches at a time in there. It would work for my immediate problem, but not for my future plans. I'm leaning away from this.

2. Maternal incubation. This would be a great option for me in terms of space, and since I have no experience with breeding, letting mama do what comes naturally would be fantastic. I'm definitely interested in this.

I know there are a few breeders on BP.net who are successful with maternal incubation. What I would like to know from you is your general process with maternal incubation - kind of a maternal incubation guide. What are your temps and humidity? What substrate do you use? Do you feed and clean while incubating? Do you have a separate rack for incubating mothers?

Any info would be so very helpful.

[KingPythons]

What are your temps and humidity? I kept them around the same as usual which was around 88-92 degrees went for a 78-85 in humidity. People try to be the incubator but then what is mom there for, you know. What substrate do you use? What I did was made a hide for her with vermiculite as substrate. Do you feed and clean while incubating? No I didn't clean, I only cleaned the water bowl. Do you have a separate rack for incubating mothers? No, same tub same rack. QT is a pro at this and will chime in, I know it .

[wwmjkd]

I would recommend a search on here for quiet tempest's posts. I know there are others who maternally incubate with success but I seem to recall that she has posted her method along with a few tips on more than a few occasions.

it's certainly a personal preference, however, using an incubator is generally less stressful (to the keeper) and if you're a first-time breeder, there's nothing wrong with using a small incubator for one or two clutches.

best of luck.

[KingPythons]

For possibility #1, you should always have a back up in case your mom wants to act up. Lol seriously though! Building one is fun and to me it's all about the experience in making one. I can't build crap from scratch and really this was to me the most easiest thing to make. After you build your first one all youll need is new flex watt for how ever big your next incubator might be. You gotta start somewhere.

[snake lab]

Hey why not. Theyve been incubating their eggs longer then we have. The cool thing about ball pythons is their ability to regulate their body temps. Just do your research on it and set your tub up for it and go for it. Like anything you will have trial and error. Just convert your incubator as a back up.

[rperry03]

I was always thinking the same thing, I want to make sure I have an incubator on standby and let mom have a shot at it as long as the heat is in order. I would not be a breeder trying to make a living but a hobbyist.

[JulieInNJ]

For possibility #1, you should always have a back up in case your mom wants to act up.

Very good point. And while it's true, I'm not looking to get into large scale breeding, I'll probably have more than 2 clutches per year. Having a small back up would be prudent, for sure!

And I'll definitely look up Quiet Tempest's posts. The more I can learn, the better!

[adamjeffery]

here is a thread on another forum(if this is against tos please remove and i can pm it) that has quiet tempest as the originator. its just photos and no info but after watching this whole process makes me want to try maternal incubation this year on a clutch or 2.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=257747

[babyknees]

I would love to do this at some point as well. I'll have to follow this thread! Thanks for the question!

[JulieInNJ]

Here's a really great bunch of info. I'm wondering if I can convince Quiet Tempest to create a Maternal Incubation guide and maybe have it stickied....

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ight=incubator