need help Ball python has eggs!!!

came home this past tues , found my ball sitting on egss , i have 2 males , well i thought i had 2 males , she is wrapped around them , eggs are sitting on the bottem of the tank on glass , she moved her bedding arouind , is it to late to try to incubate , of can i set something up in her tank , like get a tupper ware fill it with vermiculite , let her sit back on them or let her be

Its never to late to try to incubate the eggs... But do you have an incubator? Also, you will probably be told numerous times in this thread you should be keeping your BPs individually, not together. If you have an incubator, get the eggs in there. You could try letting the mother incubate them, but you will DEFINATELY want to seperate the snakes if you're doing that.

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Originally Posted by MustBeSatan

Its never to late to try to incubate the eggs... But do you have an incubator? Also, you will probably be told numerous times in this thread you should be keeping your BPs individually, not together. If you have an incubator, get the eggs in there. You could try letting the mother incubate them, but you will DEFINATELY want to seperate the snakes if you're doing that.

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thanks , no i dont have a incubator, im surprised , that they mated , i though there were certain thing you had to do to breed them . i was going to let her hatch them herself , do you think i should try to move her , and set something up in the cage,

Most of the farm stores have incubators for about $45. I would go and get one of them. If you let her do the work you will want to make sure the humidity and temps are right because bp's don't thermo regulate their egg temps like other pythons do.

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Originally Posted by zman

thanks , no i dont have a incubator, im surprised , that they mated , i though there were certain thing you had to do to breed them . i was going to let her hatch them herself , do you think i should try to move her , and set something up in the cage,

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No leave her be. Is there a heat pad under the side she is at? If so you might want to do that tub and vermuclite thing you were talking about. I would be worried that it might get to hot.

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Originally Posted by boasandballs

Most of the farm stores have incubators for about $45. I would go and get one of them. If you let her do the work you will want to make sure the humidity and temps are right because bp's don't thermo regulate their egg temps like other pythons do.

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right now 2 of the top eggs are alittle indented do think it might be the lack of humidity , i have one of those cheap stick on thermostat that reads the temp it seems low . plus i have a air conditioner next to the tank , , i did call the farm store , they have a incubator called the little giant , do i need to put the eggs in a small rubber maid sealed container with vermiculite

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Originally Posted by zman

right now 2 of the top eggs are alittle indented do think it might be the lack of humidity , i have one of those cheap stick on thermostat that reads the temp it seems low . plus i have a air conditioner next to the tank , , i did call the farm store , they have a incubator called the little giant , do i need to put the eggs in a small rubber maid sealed container with vermiculite

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no heat pad are the eggs supposed to deform alittle bit , so soon ,

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Originally Posted by zman

right now 2 of the top eggs are alittle indented do think it might be the lack of humidity , i have one of those cheap stick on thermostat that reads the temp it seems low . plus i have a air conditioner next to the tank , , i did call the farm store , they have a incubator called the little giant , do i need to put the eggs in a small rubber maid sealed container with vermiculite

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Yes use a container or you will fight to keep the humidity up.

Yeah, I would let her do it on her own. Good luck! Even if they were to males, that's an even better reason to keep them seperate. They can fight. I would make sure to seperate after this. You can even just divide the cage to make it easier.

Where is the male now?

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Originally Posted by zman

no heat pad are the eggs supposed to deform alittle bit , so soon ,

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No they probably need humidity. If you have an airconditioner near the tank I would definatly get the incubator. When did she lay them?

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Originally Posted by boasandballs

No they probably need humidity. If you have an airconditioner near the tank I would definatly get the incubator. When did she lay them?

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she laid them tues sometime when i was at work , i can leave the ac off , or try to move the tank , its a 4' long tank sitting on a coffee table , how can i raise the humidity level. i talk to alot of people , its about 50/50 on incubate or have her do it , i can mist the cage with a spray bottle every couple of days if that works

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Yeah, I would let her do it on her own. Good luck! Even if they were to males, that's an even better reason to keep them seperate. They can fight. I would make sure to seperate after this. You can even just divide the cage to make it easier.

Where is the male now?

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the male is still with her but doesnt get real close , he seems like he wants to get out , at times , like going to the top of the tank , he might be hungery again ,

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Originally Posted by zman

the male is still with her but doesnt get real close , he seems like he wants to get out , at times , like going to the top of the tank , he might be hungery again ,

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Yeah, or he's scared for his life with a cranky female on eggs. lol. I would get him out of there. You can go to Walmart and get a storage tub to stick him in, with a heat pad of course.

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Originally Posted by zman

she laid them tues sometime when i was at work , i can leave the ac off , or try to move the tank , its a 4' long tank sitting on a coffee table , how can i raise the humidity level. i talk to alot of people , its about 50/50 on incubate or have her do it , i can mist the cage with a spray bottle every couple of days if that works

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Take a wet towel and throw it over the top, or take a Tupperware bowl fill it with damp moss (or a sponge) and punch some holes in it and throw it in there. You can mist, but don't get the eggs wet, they will loose their calcium strength. I would pm one of the mods (guys in red or green) or some of the guys in italics on here and get them to help you.

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Yeah, or he's scared for his life with a cranky female on eggs. lol. I would get him out of there. You can go to Walmart and get a storage tub to stick him in, with a heat pad of course.

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i ask a lady at a pet store she seemed up to date with info on breeding she it is fine for her to hatch the eggs herself , the male seems fine , he just keeps his distance , he seems like he knows his boundrires with her at this time

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Originally Posted by zman

i ask a lady at a pet store she seemed up to date with info on breeding she it is fine for her to hatch the eggs herself , the male seems fine , he just keeps his distance , he seems like he knows his boundrires with her at this time

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I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think the pet store lady knows what she's doing. Only very experienced owners should keep ball pythons together, and it is rarely ever two males. They need to be separated. I only want whats best for your snakes. You don't want to stress her out, or you could loose the eggs.

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Originally Posted by zman

i ask a lady at a pet store she seemed up to date with info on breeding she it is fine for her to hatch the eggs herself , the male seems fine , he just keeps his distance , he seems like he knows his boundrires with her at this time

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I was just thinking. Depending on where the female and eggs are located in the tank, she could be making it hard for him to thermoregulate...

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

I was just thinking. Depending on where the female and eggs are located in the tank, she could be making it hard for him to thermoregulate...

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what does that mean, the eggs are in the far left corner of the tank away from every thing

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think the pet store lady knows what she's doing. Only very experienced owners should keep ball pythons together, and it is rarely ever two males. They need to be separated. I only want whats best for your snakes. You don't want to stress her out, or you could loose the eggs.

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i do have another fairly large tank , i would just have to set it up , bedding water bowl , just take some stuff out of the other tank

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Originally Posted by zman

what does that mean, the eggs are in the far left corner of the tank away from every thing

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Where is your hot side? Ball pythons need a hot side and a cool side to thermoregulate. If the female is keep him away from getting to the hot side of the enclosure he can't thermoregulate.

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Originally Posted by zman

i do have another fairly large tank , i would just have to set it up , bedding water bowl , just take some stuff out of the other tank

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Yeah, see. that would be perfect. Put a couple hides in there, and nice hot spot, and your good to go. Then he can get some rest, and your female can concentrate on what's important. Babies!

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Where is your hot side? Ball pythons need a hot side and a cool side to thermoregulate. If the female is keep him away from getting to the hot side of the enclosure he can't thermoregulate.

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ok yea she is on the hot side , there is a little tree he can go up and get heat if he needs to , but i can set up another tank , i just have to get another uv light and heat light , for it ,

I would give him his own tank also. You might want to start considering how you are going to keep the babies when/if they hatch too :gj:

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Originally Posted by zman

ok yea she is on the hot side , there is a little tree he can go up and get heat if he needs to , but i can set up another tank , i just have to get another uv light and heat light , for it ,

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Well, you can skip on the UV light. They are night snakes. They don't need UV. Under tank heaters actually work best, but a heat light will work for now. Keep us updated on how she is doing :)

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Well, you can skip on the UV light. They are night snakes. They don't need UV. Under tank heaters actually work best, but a heat light will work for now. Keep us updated on how she is doing :)

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ok ill post pics , are the eggs supposed to look alittle out of round , i just hope they are not , deforming or going bad

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Originally Posted by zman

ok ill post pics , are the eggs supposed to look alittle out of round , i just hope they are not , deforming or going bad

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Well, not really. It's probably just low humidity. Try spraying around them, without getting them wet. Once her humidity is raised they should plump right back up.

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Well, not really. It's probably just low humidity. Try spraying around them, without getting them wet. Once her humidity is raised they should plump right back up.

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i did spray the tank , once without knowing i got the eggs a little wet . not a alot just a couple of quick pumps , i didnt want them to stick together , i guess i was wrong , oh boy . hope they are ok . i would feel horrible if i ruined them , the eggs on the bottem look good , she has 5 now

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Originally Posted by zman

i did spray the tank , once without knowing i got the eggs a little wet . not a alot just a couple of quick pumps , i didnt want them to stick together , i guess i was wrong , oh boy . hope they are ok . i would feel horrible if i ruined them , the eggs on the bottem look good , she has 5 now

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That's ok. It shouldn't hurt them too much. You just don't want them to be constantly wet. Just don't spray them anymore. 5? That's a pretty good amount. If you want, you can take a damp paper towel and lay over the top of them. Just ring it out really good.

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

That's ok. It shouldn't hurt them too much. You just don't want them to be constantly wet. Just don't spray them anymore. 5? That's a pretty good amount. If you want, you can take a damp paper towel and lay over the top of them. Just ring it out really good.

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thank for all your help , ill set up the other tank tonite , just have to figure where to put it , living in a old farm house sucks sometme with 2 prong outlets , got to worry bout blowing fuses , lol

With the description of your tank I would say your chances of success letting the female try to incubate them is about zero. I would just get an incubator if you are really wanting these eggs to survive. Or you could easily build an incubator with a small cooler, heatpad, and on/off type thermostat (proportional would be better but they are more $ then you probably want to spend). Probably could do it for less than $40 for everything.

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Originally Posted by pfan151

With the description of your tank I would say your chances of success letting the female try to incubate them is about zero. I would just get an incubator if you are really wanting these eggs to survive. Or you could easily build an incubator with a small cooler, heatpad, and on/off type thermostat (proportional would be better but they are more $ then you probably want to spend). Probably could do it for less than $40 for everything.

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I don't know. I think with the op's inexperience it would be better to just let mom do it. As long as he can get humidity under control, and heat, she shouldn't have any trouble.

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

I don't know. I think with the op's inexperience it would be better to just let mom do it. As long as he can get humidity under control, and heat, she shouldn't have any trouble.

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Problem is, in the cage he describes that may be close to impossible. With an incubator you set it up right and you are good until thay hatch. Much less to worry about.

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Originally Posted by pfan151

Problem is, in the cage he describes that may be close to impossible. With an incubator you set it up right and you are good until thay hatch. Much less to worry about.

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thank you for your concern, it is a reg aquariem all glass screen top ,

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Originally Posted by zman

i ask a lady at a pet store she seemed up to date with info on breeding she it is fine for her to hatch the eggs herself , the male seems fine , he just keeps his distance , he seems like he knows his boundrires with her at this time

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Pet store employees are usually not very good sources of information. This isn't always the case, but the worst advice I've heard has almost always come from the mouth of an ignorant pet store employee.

Your female could maternally incubate, but not in that enclosure in its current state. Glass aquariums aren't ideal for keeping balls because it's a constant battle to keep the humidity at comfortable levels for the snake. When I maternally incubated last year, my female was kept in a 40g breeder tank but she laid her eggs in a laybox lined with moistened sphagnum moss (31qt sterilite tub with a hole cut in the lid). Having the male sharing the enclosure isn't going to help, either. It's one thing to be a wild snake sharing a den in the wild where a nuisance neighbor could be driven out but in the confines of a cage, it will only cause undue stress for both snakes if he sticks around while she's brooding.

Your best bet will be to get an incubator up and running and get the eggs into it as soon as possible.

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Originally Posted by Quiet Tempest

Pet store employees are usually not very good sources of information. This isn't always the case, but the worst advice I've heard has almost always come from the mouth of an ignorant pet store employee.

Your female could maternally incubate, but not in that enclosure in its current state. Glass aquariums aren't ideal for keeping balls because it's a constant battle to keep the humidity at comfortable levels for the snake. When I maternally incubated last year, my female was kept in a 40g breeder tank but she laid her eggs in a laybox lined with moistened sphagnum moss (31qt sterilite tub with a hole cut in the lid). Having the male sharing the enclosure isn't going to help, either. It's one thing to be a wild snake sharing a den in the wild where a nuisance neighbor could be driven out but in the confines of a cage, it will only cause undue stress for both snakes if he sticks around while she's brooding.

Your best bet will be to get an incubator up and running and get the eggs into it as soon as possible.

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what is a breeder tank , i had a bad experiance with a incubator tonite , got it at tractor suppley 40 $ little giant , what a pos

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Originally Posted by zman

what is a breeder tank , i had a bad experiance with a incubator tonite , got it at tractor suppley 40 $ little giant , what a pos

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i was thinking about putting vermiculite underneth the eggs , to help the eggs out , then have the mother go back on and incubate them , untill i can get a better incubator ,

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Sphagnum-Moss...item56382f786a

can this moss be put into the lay box?

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Originally Posted by zman

i was thinking about putting vermiculite underneth the eggs , to help the eggs out , then have the mother go back on and incubate them , untill i can get a better incubator ,

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Just be really careful with that. Too much moisture and the eggs will go bad. To little moisture and the eggs will go bad. I would get some sort of grating to keep the eggs off the vermeculite. But still use it to incease your himidity. I don't think it will hurt the mom, but you don't want her sitting in too much wetness.

I think getting a few pictures of your set up will help us a lot.

Although some will not agree with the way you may have things set up or how you want to deal with your female and her clutch, if we had pictures it would help us to better understand the layout of your set up so that better information can be given.

Simple steps in changing the set up with little disturbance to the female can make a world of difference to her having a viable clutch in the end.

But I will agree you need to get the male out so there is less stress for both snakes and less chance of the eggs getting damaged.

*** without knowing the set up my 2 cents would be***

get some newspaper and tent it over her, then misting her cage a couple times a day (the newspaper will help to stop the eggs from getting wet) and maybe adding a second water bowl with a bubble stone (like used for fish tanks) to help bump the humidity up.

lastly read, read, read, everything you can find about breeding snakes and how to deal with the eggs and the babies once they hatch.

ASK lots of questions on things you may not understand about what is happening now and as things go along.

Best of luck to you with this little surprised gift she has given you.

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Originally Posted by zman

what is a breeder tank , i had a bad experiance with a incubator tonite , got it at tractor suppley 40 $ little giant , what a pos

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My breeder tank is not much different than other tanks except that it's wider than it is tall.

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Originally Posted by Dusty

I think getting a few pictures of your set up will help us a lot.

Although some will not agree with the way you may have things set up or how you want to deal with your female and her clutch, if we had pictures it would help us to better understand the layout of your set up so that better information can be given.

Simple steps in changing the set up with little disturbance to the female can make a world of difference to her having a viable clutch in the end.

But I will agree you need to get the male out so there is less stress for both snakes and less chance of the eggs getting damaged.

*** without knowing the set up my 2 cents would be***

get some newspaper and tent it over her, then misting her cage a couple times a day (the newspaper will help to stop the eggs from getting wet) and maybe adding a second water bowl with a bubble stone (like used for fish tanks) to help bump the humidity up.

lastly read, read, read, everything you can find about breeding snakes and how to deal with the eggs and the babies once they hatch.

ASK lots of questions on things you may not understand about what is happening now and as things go along.

Best of luck to you with this little surprised gift she has given you.

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thank you , for your advice , moving the male today , getting his own tank set up ,

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Originally Posted by Dusty

I think getting a few pictures of your set up will help us a lot.

Although some will not agree with the way you may have things set up or how you want to deal with your female and her clutch, if we had pictures it would help us to better understand the layout of your set up so that better information can be given.

Simple steps in changing the set up with little disturbance to the female can make a world of difference to her having a viable clutch in the end.

But I will agree you need to get the male out so there is less stress for both snakes and less chance of the eggs getting damaged.

*** without knowing the set up my 2 cents would be***

get some newspaper and tent it over her, then misting her cage a couple times a day (the newspaper will help to stop the eggs from getting wet) and maybe adding a second water bowl with a bubble stone (like used for fish tanks) to help bump the humidity up.

lastly read, read, read, everything you can find about breeding snakes and how to deal with the eggs and the babies once they hatch.

ASK lots of questions on things you may not understand about what is happening now and as things go along.

Best of luck to you with this little surprised gift she has given you.

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what is a bubble stone

I may add in to take the male out of the same enclosure in case the female gets too defensive and tries to snap at him. She can injure him pretty bad if he gets too close and she gets defensive.

To start. I'm sorry I have not been back online. I'm up to 67 clutches of bp's and 15+ clutches of boas.

I know you were not expecting these and might not have the $'s to buy lots of stuff. So for a cheep fix to your eggs, you can take a cardboard box (cereal box or something) cut it and make it into a hide box. If you have some moss that would be good, it not it is ok. Put the box over her and mist the box. I would use warm water a couple times a day. If the box gets yucky, make another. This will solve your humidity problem, and keep the female quite and confy. Next make sure your temps around her are about 87-90 and you will be fine.

In about a month if the eggs look good you will want to get your hands on a few of those plastic shoe box tubs and some sort of heat tape or heat pads to take care of the babies until you sell them.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

I may add in to take the male out of the same enclosure in case the female gets too defensive and tries to snap at him. She can injure him pretty bad if he gets too close and she gets defensive.

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the female goes off the eggs once in a while and sits in her water dish, and just now she went over to the male and hung out with him . very close , i guess i should still get him out , he has gone over to her , and she does nothing , like it doesnt even bother her that he is around .

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Originally Posted by boasandballs

To start. I'm sorry I have not been back online. I'm up to 67 clutches of bp's and 15+ clutches of boas.

I know you were not expecting these and might not have the $'s to buy lots of stuff. So for a cheep fix to your eggs, you can take a cardboard box (cereal box or something) cut it and make it into a hide box. If you have some moss that would be good, it not it is ok. Put the box over her and mist the box. I would use warm water a couple times a day. If the box gets yucky, make another. This will solve your humidity problem, and keep the female quite and confy. Next make sure your temps around her are about 87-90 and you will be fine.

In about a month if the eggs look good you will want to get your hands on a few of those plastic shoe box tubs and some sort of heat tape or heat pads to take care of the babies until you sell them.

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should the heat pad be on, it fell off or unstuck itself from the bottom of the tank , i dont know if i can get it back on , ive been misting the tank every couple hours seems like the humidity went up a little bit , still low , ill made a hide box and mist that , hope that works ,

Can you post a picture of your set up and the eggs?

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Originally Posted by Quiet Tempest

Can you post a picture of your set up and the eggs?

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ok i went and got another incubator the temp is between 85-97 is that good i got vermiculite , clumped it up filled a tupperware container half way up set the eggs exactly how they were in the same position , sealed the container .

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Originally Posted by zman

ok i went and got another incubator the temp is between 85-97 is that good i got vermiculite , clumped it up filled a tupperware container half way up set the eggs exactly how they were in the same position , sealed the container .

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No. You want to aim for 88-90. What sort of incubator is it? How is it heated?