denting ball python eggs

Its day 3 and my eggs are looking like this, whats goin on with them? I got the temp at 89 and humidity at 100 it was 87 to 90 range but i got it at 100 now. How do i post pics?

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How to post pictures: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

I have the pic in my profile now, will someone let me know if they can see it and let me know whats goin on

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

I have the pic in my profile now, will someone let me know if they can see it and let me know whats goin on

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http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...5-01-16_22.jpg

So whats goin on with the eggs? They are only a couple days old, i have candled all them and they are all good. But they r denting now and looks like water spots

Not looking too good...What kind of incubator are they in?

Hi,

How did you mix that substrate?


dr del

A incubator from ace or tractor supply buddy let me use it

I mixed the verimulite with water and squeezed it out til there was no water coming out

Hi,

I think it's too wet - especially since they are buried in it.

The best way is to mix it by weight - 100g of water for every 100g of vermiculite.

No water coming out when squeezed is half the test - it needs to hold the shape but come apart really easily when you rub it with your thumb or fingers.

You might want to try substrateless if you can get some light grating to sit the eggs on to support them above the vermiculite.

http://imageshack.us/a/img259/6816/n...breeding05.jpg


dr del

It holds it shapes and crumbles when i rub my fingers thru it, do u think they will make it or have yall seen worse eggs make it? And in that pic u posted how long have they been in the incubator?

Hi,

That pic was before I put them in the incubator. :)

I'd definitely try and remove them from the substrate and sit them on something if you can - how are you sealing that tub so the humidity doesn't just escape?

Also you might want to double check the temps with a digital thermometer just to be sure.

I don't know anything about the brand of incubator you mentioned so any info might be helpful.


dr del

The only way the humidity could get out is thru the 4 holes on the top but i covered them so it cant escape. I have been checking the temp/humidity alot its staying at the same spot. I opened it once already today to add more water around it. The incubator came from ace hardware it was for chicken eggs.

How are you measuring the temps for the eggs? A chicken egg and ball python egg will need to be incubated at different temperatures. If the temp isn't monitored properly, that could be part of your problem.

If your temps are fine, it could just be that your humidity is low. Try putting some press-n-seal on top to trap in even more humidity. Those analog dials are junk.

I have the temp at 89 and the humidity at 100% and i have a temp/humidity gauge right beside the eggs.

Ooo, yeah they are too dry for sure. Using substrate can be really frustrating because it is a bit hard to get just right. I go substrateless for that very reason. They shouldn't look that dented until a week, maybe 2 before they hatch.

Here's a picture of my eggs on day 52, roughly a week before they are due to hatch
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...eeding/009.jpg

The rest of the time they look like this, they might get a really small dent, but they stay pretty pump and round till the end.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...ding/014-1.jpg

I have already opened it once today should i attempt to open it again to put them on the wire mesh on top of the verimulite? So are the eggs to far gone now since they r dented that bad already?

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

I have already opened it once today should i attempt to open it again to put them on the wire mesh on top of the verimulite? So are the eggs to far gone now since they r dented that bad already?

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I would take them out and put light diffuser/egg crate over the verm. Eggs are highly sensitive to being too wet or too dry. My first year I put my eggs on the substrate and got them too wet, I got them off the substrate after 2 weeks, but 4 of the eggs died between that time and when they were supposed to hatch. The rest of the babies were too deformed to make it.

Also, when you say wire mesh, what are you going to use? Metal will rust.

Its the wire mesh that came with the incubator.

Do you have any pictures of the mesh and the incubator? This might help us visualize what you're using.

Egg crate is from Home Depot or Lowes and you can cut it to fit the size of your egg tub. It's like $13 or something like that. That's what I use in my egg tubs.

I got the pic uploaded but for some reason i cant get it to the thread but its in my profile pics.

Sounds like you have a hovabator. Are you using a good thermostat or the original equipment that came with it. I agree with putting them on egg crate but you may also need to tweak the incubator.

I dont think your temps or humidity are right. You're using an analog thermometer, which aren't very reliable.

I am using a thermometer i bought from a pet store, its a temp/humidity gauge.

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

I am using a thermostat i bought from a pet store, its a temp/humidity gauge.

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That's a ThermoMETER, not a thermoSTAT.

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

I am using a thermostat i bought from a pet store, its a temp/humidity gauge.

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A thermostat regulates temps.
A thermometer measures temps.

The hovabator needs a mod in order to use it reliably for snake eggs. You need to hook up your own reliable thermostat.
the hovabator one isn't accurate.

And try using a digital thermometer/hygrometer. The dial ones from pet stores are inaccurate and not reliable either.

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Here are the pics;

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...5-01-16_22.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...-09-39_278.jpg

Sorry yea its a thermometer

Do you have a thermostat hooked up to your hovabator?

No i dont have one, all it has is a little knob that u twiste left or right to adjust the heat

Id suggest getting one ASAP. With the analog thermometer and hydrometer, I really doubt you're temps/humidity are what you think they are.

Your other problem may be that it's a poultry incubator, I use one myself, but only for poultry eggs. Do you have a different thermostat for that incubator? The heat control on that incubator isn't accurate enough for ball pythons, poultry does alright with big fluctuations since they get that naturally. I'm not sure how I feel about them sitting on that wire mesh, but I haven't had a problem with mine getting rusty with the poultry eggs, so maybe it will be alright.

Edit: just saw that someone already asked that. The twist knob adjuster on that incubator is really bad for ball pythons. You need less than a 1 degree difference. I have a 10 degree difference with that incubator when I have it running in my house for the poultry. If the room temp changes you have to adjust the knob accordingly and it's really easy to adjust it too much.

I have 2 differnet thermometer in there with eggs now they both say 89 temp and 100 humidity and one of the thermometer is a digital gauge.

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

I have 2 differnet thermometer in there with eggs now they both say 89 temp and 100 humidity and one of the thermometer is a digital gauge.

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That's a start...but you STILL need a quality thermostat that won't flucuate your temps. Most people reccomend the Hydrofarm, but I DO NOT recommend it for an incubator. I bought a herpstat 2 with one probe on the incubator (an intro or intro + would work fine and those are cheaper than a Herpstat 1 or 2) and I LOVE it with my incubator. The temperature fluctuates less then half a degree.

At this point, without a quality thermostat, I don't know if your eggs can hang on. Try to get a nice thermostat quickly (like...overnight it if you can) and see what you can do to salvage the eggs.

So whats a good incubator to go with?

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

So whats a good incubator to go with?

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Most people on here have built their own incubators. You can find a lot of tips in the DIY section of the forum.

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Originally Posted by blind_skater

So whats a good incubator to go with?

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I built my own out of a plastic cooler and a lot of people use old wine coolers they got off craigslist. If you're really in a pinch, Hova-bators work decently so long as you have the thermostat to go with it. Really, any incubator is functional as long as you have a good thermostat to go with it. I think the chicken incubator will work for you if you get a thermostat to go with it. You should also saturate the substrate, put the eggs on a light diffuser (aka egg crate), seal it with press-n-seal to hold in humidity, and then hope for the best.

Hovabators should be banned :mad:

Those eggs are soaking up water and deflating, not too dry but entirely too wet and may not make it at this point :(