Wholly Crap! I got unexpected EGGS. HELP!

Got home from work yesterday and found my Big Girl Wrapped around eggs??

I had thought about breeding last fall and paired her up 2x with a young male before changing my mind, and seperating them.

I have raised BP for years but have never bred them, or hatched eggs
I threw together a makeshift incubator out of a heater/cooler I had bought years ago.

Is this set up accetable? temps are set at 88, it generally stays between 87-89 degrees. The bottom tub is full of water as is the vermiculite (eggs are on top of a light diffuser cut for the tub)

I recall reading about this years ago, and im wondering if this set up is acceptable? The front glass in the 1st pic has condensation on it so I think
the humidity is high??

However the eggs arent covered? do they need to be?

Am I good or should I get/make something else?

[IMG]http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1817.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1816.jpg[/IMG]

Looks good. Get a secondary thermometer to double check temps.

Same thing happened to me a few days ago. I only got 3 eggs though. Good luck.

looks good, i personally would have a tun with a lid on it and at least a single airhole in said tub to prevent drafts and humidity issues as you check on the eggs every week or so ( i checked mine daily, until the date they hatch gets close then i check 2+ times a day but that me lol.)

This makes it look so much simpler than anything else does. Other posts about how to do this make you want to tear your hair out with details.

I was really caught off guard, The girl was A really BIG 7 Y.O. (I dont have a scale but she was one of the biggest I have seen, Thats why I didnt "see" she was pregnant. I did kind of suspect since she hasnt eaten since January.

But I didnt see any "Lumps" She still looks healty after laying 8 eggs 2 days ago.

I didnt have any tubbs deep enough to add a lid to them that would fit.
6 of the 8 eggs were attached, so the pile was sitting taller than the tub.

I am hoping as long as I keep the bottom tub full of water the humidity should be high enough without having to cover them?? (any thoughts on this?) I am really paranoid that im not doing something I should be doing?

dos anyone see any possible problems I could have without covering them?

I just bumped the heat to 90, which will kick the heater on at 88 and off at 90. Im thinking because the bottom tub is full of water thats helping keep the temps pretty stable at 89 +/- 1

I really would be sick if I did anything incorrect to harm the eggs.

I can check the eggs through the window, The little fridge has a light inside
that I can switch on to see the eggs.

The only time I have to open the door is to fill the water (every 4-5 days) im guessing?

That's one awesome incubator!

I'm thinking, maybe add a hygrometer in there just to make sure the humidity stays above 80% when the water bowl gets low. Not sure if you need a tiny fan just to move the air around to prevent hot pockets with that awesome incubator. As long as condensation doesn't form on the top of the incubator that could drop water down the eggs, I don't think you need to worry about lids until they start to pip and try to crawl out of that tub.

that setup is fine just keep humidity up and eggs will be fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anatess

That's one awesome incubator!

I don't think you need to worry about lids until they start to pip and try to crawl out of that tub.

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well.. I thought about that and put a much smaller hole diffuser over the water bowl, so even if they crawl out they will just be sitting on the lower grate and not fall in the water?

Its not really an "incubator" I had it at work just to keep drinks cool.
we ended up getting a bigger "small fridge" on the unit to hold everyones food.
So I just had it sitting around, and thought what the hell I might as well use it and test the heater????

Im starting to wonder if my other large female might be realy to pop too?
Alot of my snakes went off feed this winter, but I ony paired up the 2 largest
females (only 2x)!! but I guess it only takes 1x to get the job done.

if your worried go buy another tub and separate the eggs and make 2 tubs setup rather one with lids.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

if your worried go buy another tub and separate the eggs and make 2 tubs setup rather one with lids.

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I cant, it wont fit in this fridge.

Here is the other possible gravid female, she has always been big, but I really cant tell. Any Ideas?

[IMG]http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1820.jpg[/IMG]


Here is the new Mom after her bath, and cage cleansing

[IMG]http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1818.jpg[/IMG]

Wow. At least you were semi-prepared. Good Luck with them! What was she paired with?

congratz your snakes look great and your incubator looks really nice, i just had my female lay about 14 days ago, my first eggs to got 5 nice ones and no slugs, good luck :8:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Wow. At least you were semi-prepared. Good Luck with them! What was she paired with?

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Well prepaired is not the word I would use, I think PANIC describes it a little better. I had an old cooler in the basement, but I didnt have any other items to make an incubator, then I saw the little fridge/warmer and BINGO!

About these mini fridge incubators... (Same exact thing as the incubators you get from ReptiPro.)

The readout is not accurate AT ALL. Supposedly, the temps inside can be as low as six degrees below what it says it is. I would definitely get a second thermometer to stick in there to be sure. I had to bump the readout to 96 degrees to get the temps I wanted.

I lost two eggs about 15 days into incubation from what I'm assuming was the low temps. The other two made it, but they were about 15 days behind schedule. I thought I had thoroughly researched this incubator in particular, and at the time I didn't find any complaints about the temps.

Good luck with them, though! I had problems with humidity as well, so if you can cover the eggs, I'd definitely do that.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to grab
A couple gauges temp/humid. After work
Today, I hope I haven't
Caused any damage.

Unfortunately because of the
Size I really can't cover the eggs.

I probably should make a more
Appropriate incubator out of a cooler.

I'll check on getting those supplies today too

Quote:

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Originally Posted by paingod

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to grab
A couple gauges temp/humid. After work
Today, I hope I haven't
Caused any damage.

Unfortunately because of the
Size I really can't cover the eggs.

I probably should make a more
Appropriate incubator out of a cooler.

I'll check on getting those supplies today too

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I was at Home Depot the other day and they were selling Grip Lock clear containers for 99 cents. These could be perfect as an egg tub because of the size and it is clear so you can see right through the entire thing. The lid snaps shut around the handle area but it is very loose fitting compared to the tupperware containers so I think it would be good for air exchange.

Also, check out the Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer with probe. They sell them at Wal-mart for around 12 bucks. They have a more expensive version - around $40 - that comes with a remote sensor... that is, you can put the sensor with probe inside the egg tub and the display unit can be on your bedside table. I've never really used that model because I already got the $12 model.

Whew!

My temps and humidity are stable
At 88.5 and 88%, just like the readout
Thanks for scarring the crap outta me
LOL.......,,,

temp gun your best friend lol i had to adjust mine cause it was off by 2 degrees so I played wit hit untilI got the temps were I wanted
I cheated and used a wet towel on te flexwatt to keep my humidity up. wors great and it just a large coke displace cooler with gladd door lol.

Great idea!!!
I'm going to use some hand towels
And soak them!!!

My humidity seems to range between
82-88% I think the wet towels
Will jump me up to the 90+ range!

Thanks