Where to put babies?

For those of you who do not have dedicated hatchling racks, what do you do with your hatchlings once they're out? I'm just trying to plan ahead, as I'm hoping this will be a concern soon. Thanks!

I haven't had any yet, but I'm prepared already. Bottom line, prepare for your hatchlings before they hatch so you have no problem and no issue to worry about. You'll have approximately 60 days from the time the eggs are laid to the time they hatch. That should be plenty of time to set up some 6qt tubs on heat.

IMO don't breed if you can't house what's coming

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Originally Posted by deto360

IMO don't breed if you can't house what's coming

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+1

Yea, gotta get the hatchling rack before you expect babies.

Hatchling racks are not that expensive. You need to plan on having six hatchling tubs, minimum for every female you breed. You can adjust that up, if you get a lot more eggs than planned. Please do not plan on breeding if you do not have the resources to take care of the offspring.

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Originally Posted by Badgemash

For those of you who do not have dedicated hatchling racks, what do you do with your hatchlings once they're out? I'm just trying to plan ahead, as I'm hoping this will be a concern soon. Thanks!

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You only buy from professional breeders but you don't want to invest in a hatchling rack? How about the sock drawer? Got an incubator yet? Toaster oven?

Sorry. Poor attempt at humor. You can easily make a hatchling rack and use 12" heat tape for back heat with two tubs on each shelf. Costco sells Iris shoebox tubs in bulk packages and they're cheap. I made a hatchling rack out of two $12 shelf units at K-Mart. I had one built for me with 26 tubs which I like a lot better. Check Craigslist for a used one.

I would plan for 8 slots for each female you're breeding, because most of my girls lay 7 to 8 eggs, not 6.

Calm down guys, I'm not going to abuse my babies (in the event we get some), I just want to know how different people do things. I think I should have been more specific in my post, as I was wondering about perhaps putting dividers in one of the bigger tubs, or if anyone has some other set up that they favor. Basically is a hatchling specific rack the best route for the small scale breeder? I have the financial means to care for hatchlings, I just would like to know what all of the options are before I commit to a set up so I can make the most informed decision possible. And yes on the incubator question, I went with the Natures Spirit one (with a Herpstat to run it) because a lot of people here were praising it on the older threads I was reading. I just want to do the best I can for my animals, and that means asking lots of questions, even if they seem stupid sometimes.

I think it depends on what your goals and intentions are with breeding. I'd say plan ahead and if you think that you're going to continue breeding then get a rack. You can go with a vision rack which would allow for the ability to have hatchling size tubs as well as slightly bigger tubs for growing your holdback animals too, all in one rack. My first season I had 4 clutches (33 babies) and 12 clutches (80 babies) in my second season. Luckily I bought a hatchling rack. Good luck.

Mike