Unexpected Eggs- Incubator switched off

Hi everyone,

First BP clutch was laid tonight very unexpectedly. I have an incubator that was set up and gets to temps fine but I had switched it off and was due to go back on next week to prepare for my expected clutches.

There is perlite set up in there, should I just wait until it gets to temp and put them there, or should I mix fresh as that was a month ago and already sat for a few weeks, will it last as long at the right humidity?

I don’t have an egg crate, so is it fine to go directly in or should I keep it maternal incubation until it’s been back up to temp for a few days?

This Lesser female, Metis, showed no signs of breeding other than refusing food from mid December. Male introduced 9x with no visible lock.

She shed on 2nd January, thought it could be preov shed and kept looking for signs but she just stayed the same. 60 days after she has just laid eggs. Only paired from 22nd November. So was she gravid 6 weeks after pairing, or just skipped her prelay shed?

Sorry for so many questions, I’m just blown away here, I’ve kept pretty good records and studied them and she’s just blown everything out of the water lol.

Greetings,

If the perlite is 'clean' and has been dry and not exposed to moisture then it should be fine. Note: The egg boxes should be disinfected prior to use (good: rubbing alcohol, better: diluted bleach solution).

If you are using a standard egg box setup with perlite above a layer of water then just make sure the perlite is deep enough that you can rest the eggs on the top so they remain humid, but, do not touch the water below. I recommend using distilled water.

Make sure the incubator is up to temperature before adding the eggs. Maternal incubation is fine in the very early stages, but, gets more problematic as the embryos grow.

Living systems can often be unpredictable. Make sure to have fun! :)

Thanks for the reply.

I have fresh perlite and vermiculite it might be better to do a fresh batch and clean everything down with f10 again. I was going with water mixed with the perlite, is it still on to add the eggs or does the actual perlite need to be dry?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Garmckin

I have fresh perlite and vermiculite it might be better to do a fresh batch and clean everything down with f10 again. I was going with water mixed with the perlite, is it still on to add the eggs or does the actual perlite need to be dry?

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The eggs should be on dry perlite, above the water level. If you had light diffuser grating on top of the perlite: then it would suspend the eggs and you would have no chance of water contact. Resting the eggs on top of the perlite is fine, but, you have to make sure that the top level is completely dry. If water comes in direct contact with the egg then you will have problems.

I'm sure you have seen plenty of photos as examples.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...8prijubebe.jpg