She laid eggs! Ahhhhhhh!

Akina laid eggs! I didn't think she was going to do it, but she did. I don't even have the incubator set up or anything. I didn't think she was going to lay at all! I don't know how long she's been with the eggs. She could have laid any time this week. I've only been opening her tub to give her water. I went in to change her bedding and there she was on top of a mound of eggs! OMG! I'm hyperventilating right now.

I'm heading out to the store to get a tub, vermiculite, and any other things I need. Will I need a fan right away? How long can they stay with the mom safely? I still need to get the incubator set up and warmed up. Ahhhhhh!

first breeth.. they can stay with mom till they hatch..you got some time.

Congrats, and a little advice for the future, if you are breeding have the bator on stand-by :)

Congrats!!!!

This kinda happened to me last year So i TOTALLY understand the panic! LOL

Before you go to do much with them, make sure your bator is running and up to proper temp. let it SIT that way overnight. You want to make sure the temps stay stable.

Sounds like you pretty much know what to do though. But if you need help, please feel free to ask! ^_^

Yay :banana: Congrats!!! Who was she bred with?

She was bred to a 100% het pied normal, so the babies should be 50% possible het pied. I'm going to keep all the females.

I'm about to go up and put the incubator together. I was going to have the incubator set up but during the move we just didn't get a chance to and it seemed like she wasn't going to lay anyway.

I counted at least 3 eggs. I'm guessing there are 3-5 eggs.

Awesome!! Congratulations :banana: hope there are lots of little girls for you :D

Does the incubator have to sit overnight, or can I put the eggs in as soon as the temperature is even? I sort of want to move them because I just checked the heat tape of the rack and its not warm. Its 78 in the room. I think I knocked the probe loose, but I'm not sure. I'm going to be moving all the snakes from that rack to the other rack as soon as possible.

The eggs look good so far. I have set up the heat tape and thermostat. I have a thermometer and hydrometer in the incubator and the heat tape is already heating up.

Definately make sure the temp is stabilized. Also watch the temp close-spikes up or down aren't good. If you have a big clutch your temps may rise as the eggs develop. Some may argue,but if your incubator is set up properly with a thermostat/temp controller,and up to the correct temp, I don't see a reason to wait to put the eggs in it. The overnight wait wouldn't be a bad idea just to make sure the incubator is functioning properly. Congrats on the clutch! Jason Bowden

I mixed the vermiculite, and I was told I needed to put water in it up until I could squeeze it and it formed a ball. Here is it right now. Is it ok?
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...nake/vermi.jpg

And here is a pic I snapped of Akina.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...nake/akina.jpg


*Note that I do use paper towels as substrate. She has shoved hers to the opposite end of the tub. :( She does it every week.

I love that last picture! I just love mama's on their eggs! Congrats! And try to chill so you don't stress out the mom or get a migraine yourself;):gj:

A hova bator incubater would be a cheap($40) and reliable investment for you. I use them and they don't take up much space. I had 3 clutches in one hova bator at one time last year and all of the eggs hatched. CONGRATS AGAIN! Jason Bowden
What were you planning to do with the fan?

The vermiculite looks to have the right moisture. I use a coarser grade but you should be fine.
If you are making a home made incubater, are you putting the tub in an aquarium and using an aquarium heater to regulate the temp? Of course the top of the aquarium would have to be covered also. Jason

I'm a little calmer now. I got the 'bator running. I can't put a fan in it though. During the move, I think it may have gotten buried in a sea of boxes. I'm going to try and find it, but will they be ok without a fan for a few days? (I can buy a new power supply on Thursday).

The temp is now 84 in the incubator. The thermostat is set to 88.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I'm a little calmer now. I got the 'bator running. I can't put a fan in it though. During the move, I think it may have gotten buried in a sea of boxes. I'm going to try and find it, but will they be ok without a fan for a few days? (I can buy a new power supply on Thursday).

The temp is now 84 in the incubator. The thermostat is set to 88.

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I dont have a fan in my bator at all. its a 28qt cooler :)

I'm using a mini fridge. I'll take a picture when I go to put the eggs in. I've got 2 feet of flexwatt in there.

Will I have to add water to the substrate at all during the incubation period or will it be ok?

Oh and when is the estimated hatch date? Isn't it 60 days after they are laid?

I checked on the incubator and its up to 85. This is only due to the fact I don't have the thermostat up enough so I boosted it up two more degrees so hopefully I can achieve 88 tonight. Once it hits 88, I'm going to let it sit for an hour to make sure the temp doesn't go anywhere and then I will move them over.

Wait more than an hour, let it sit over night. The eggs should be fine with mommy.

85.4. Slowly creeping up there. The heat is working in the rack again. The probe got knocked loose. I don't think she was done! I just checked on her and she is in a higher position and now she looks super thin! Poor baby!

There are two eggs out of the mound that she isn't wrapping herself around. Should I be concerned about these eggs? I will be moving them tonight to the incubator.

There is probably no point to letting it sit over night. I'm going to be up all night worrying about these eggs. You must understand. These are my first eggs, ever, and I'm terrified of doing something wrong.

85.9. I took pictures of her on the eggs and of the two eggs that are not part of the big mound of eggs. I'm going to leave her alone until its time to move the eggs.

Being a nervous wreck, I'm really worrying about those two eggs. Is there a reason she didn't wrap around them?

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r.../akinaeggs.jpg

Good luck with the clutch, here's RDR talking about kicked out eggs.

YouTube - 2008 clutch # 6 - part 1
YouTube - 2008 clutch # 6 - part 2 ( egg update )
YouTube - 2008 clutch # 6 - part 3 - ( pippin' )
YouTube - 2008 clutch # 6 - part 4 - ( hatched )

So it could just be that she is inexperienced, but it could also mean they are infertile. Will a regular flashlight candle the eggs, if I make the room dark and hold the light up to the eggs?

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

So it could just be that she is inexperienced, but it could also mean they are infertile. Will a regular flashlight candle the eggs, if I make the room dark and hold the light up to the eggs?

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I have no experience candling, as my first clutch won't be here for another 13 days, but from what I know, that should work fine.

Ok, I'll give it a shot when I move them. The incubator was sitting at 86, so I bumped up the temp on the thermostat to 96. It was sitting at 95 and gave me a temp of 86. I'm aiming for 88.

I am thinking of going to bed and checking on the incubator temps in the morning. Will the two kicked out eggs be ok until then?

Also, if she laid the eggs today, which I am starting to suspect, the eggs would be due to hatch in 60 days? 60 days lands them on July 3rd to hatch....I think.

LOL!!! Lots of questions in different blocks..

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I am thinking of going to bed and checking on the incubator temps in the morning. Will the two kicked out eggs be ok until then?

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Yes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Also, if she laid the eggs today, which I am starting to suspect, the eggs would be due to hatch in 60 days? 60 days lands them on July 3rd to hatch....I think.

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Yes... Give or take. Could be later if you are shooting for 88 degrees...

With the thermostat set at 96, the incubator hit 87.6 and stayed in that general area. I raised the thermostat one more degree, so hopefully it will hit 88 and stay there without me raising it anymore.

I do not have the press and seal plastic wrap. I can take pictures of my egg tub though and you can tell me if it would be ok without it.

I also just realized that not a single room in this house can be dark enough for candling. (skylights and windows in pretty much every room).

Once I get the eggs in the incubator, how often should I open the egg tub for air circulation?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

With the thermostat set at 96, the incubator hit 87.6 and stayed in that general area. I raised the thermostat one more degree, so hopefully it will hit 88 and stay there without me raising it anymore.

I do not have the press and seal plastic wrap. I can take pictures of my egg tub though and you can tell me if it would be ok without it.

I also just realized that not a single room in this house can be dark enough for candling. (skylights and windows in pretty much every room).

Once I get the eggs in the incubator, how often should I open the egg tub for air circulation?

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I candle with all the lights on just to see if they are fertile, the veins run all along the inside, you cant miss them.. :) you dont need to turn the lights off.

Personally, i use an LED flashlight to see veins. They are not so good, it seems, to see the growing embryo inside a little later on though.(this you can do in the dark) Some people seem to use the mini mag lights and those work great, as far as i can tell from the pics.


What thermostat are you using on your incubator? and what size flexwatt to heat it? It sounds like your flex is going to be on ALL the time, if its not coming up to temp without you setting it OVER, and if you have a t-stat where you can boost the power running to it, you might want to do that. ( I had to adjust my Herpstat for this for 2ft of 11" flex in a 28qt cooler to make it run at optimal temps, without the flex getting too hot surface wise) It will usually explain in the directions if you can do this. ( For the more expensive models, and possibly rancos *im not 100%sure on them though* i personally use Herpstats and only really know them).


as for the egg box. i dont use press and seal either.

The flexwatt is 2 feet of the 11 inch. I have it hooked up to a Helix DBS1000 Proportional thermostat with the probe on the heat tape.

I have to over set all my thermostats when I run racks. At my old apartment, I used to have to set the thermostat to 100-102 just to achieve 92 inside the tubs. So far I think 96 will achieve 88 in my incubator. I can take a picture of the inside of the incubator if you want.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

The flexwatt is 2 feet of the 11 inch. I have it hooked up to a Helix DBS1000 Proportional thermostat with the probe on the heat tape.

I have to over set all my thermostats when I run racks. At my old apartment, I used to have to set the thermostat to 100-102 just to achieve 92 inside the tubs. So far I think 96 will achieve 88 in my incubator. I can take a picture of the inside of the incubator if you want.

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Check the instructions for that thing. you may be able to change the power output. Your flex just might not be getting enough power to fully heat up.

I just tried to candle the two kicked out eggs and the light from my little flashlight is not strong enough to penetrate the egg. I'll have to go out and get a stronger light.

The instructions for the thermostat are long gone. I just boosted it up one more degree. It was sitting at about 87.5 but had reached a high temp of 88.1. Would this kind of range be ok for the eggs?

Grats! BTW, I don't use a fan in my bator. It is a converted stand-up freezer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

The flexwatt is 2 feet of the 11 inch. I have it hooked up to a Helix DBS1000 Proportional thermostat with the probe on the heat tape.

I have to over set all my thermostats when I run racks. At my old apartment, I used to have to set the thermostat to 100-102 just to achieve 92 inside the tubs. So far I think 96 will achieve 88 in my incubator. I can take a picture of the inside of the incubator if you want.

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I found a trick to this issue on this site: http://www.baileyreptiles.com/cb70rack.html , step 24. If you put a piece of plastic between the heat tape and the probe, you should be able to set your thermostat much closer to the temp inside of the tub.

Thanks for the DIY tip Tim and Monica!

The incubator is sitting at 88.6 now. Now I just need to wait and see if it goes up anymore.

The incubator is sitting at 88.5 with a max of 88.6, so I think it is staying there for now. How long should I wait before putting the eggs in?

Temp still holding steady at exactly 88.5 with the max at 88.6. So it's held this temp for an hour, even with me opening it twice. Would it be safe to put the eggs in there. The two that are not being warmed by Momma are a little cool to the touch.

I would go ahead and put the eggs in.

I removed the eggs from Akina and put them in the egg tub. I weighed the eggs as best I could before putting them in the incubator. I will get a weight on Akina in a few days once she's had a chance to settle down from all of this.


2 Kicked out Eggs: 166g
Single Egg: 83g
3 Group: 252

Combined Weight: 501g

One of the group eggs is a boob egg. My dinky light wouldn't penetrate some of the eggs, but I did see a vein on the single egg!

Akina is looking so thin and worn out. I will be posting a picture of the eggs in just a moment. Not bad for my attempt at getting a female off her eggs! All she did was his a little. Then she finally moved a little and I was able to lift her off the eggs. I made sure not to turn any of them. I was so afraid of damaging them. They felt like really thick water balloons that don't have enough water in them. Does that make any sense?

So expected hatch date is July 3rd. So that means, 59 days to go, yes?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I removed the eggs from Akina and put them in the egg tub. I weighed the eggs as best I could before putting them in the incubator. I will get a weight on Akina in a few days once she's had a chance to settle down from all of this.


2 Kicked out Eggs: 166g
Single Egg: 83g
3 Group: 252

Combined Weight: 501g

One of the group eggs is a boob egg. My dinky light wouldn't penetrate some of the eggs, but I did see a vein on the single egg!

Akina is looking so thin and worn out. I will be posting a picture of the eggs in just a moment. Not bad for my attempt at getting a female off her eggs! All she did was his a little. Then she finally moved a little and I was able to lift her off the eggs. I made sure not to turn any of them. I was so afraid of damaging them. They felt like really thick water balloons that don't have enough water in them. Does that make any sense?

So expected hatch date is July 3rd. So that means, 59 days to go, yes?

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Yea, sounds like you did a good job. If your bator is set to 88.5, then yes, they should hatch at around day 59. I set my bator to 59, and my eggs usually start to hatch at around day 55 - 56.

Jay,

As excited as I am for you on this, I think you are getting a little... overly anxious?

Several times I come back to answer questions, and there is a deluge of posts with almost the same question over a 30 minute period.

You are asking the same questions over and over. I know you are excited, but breathe, please.

Yes, 60 days..

Somewhere around 87-90 degrees with little to no fluctuations.

Yes, put the eggs in the incubator.

Now relax a little..

I'm sorry. I really am. This is just my first time doing this, and I don't want to make any mistakes. I don't want anything to go wrong so I'm just trying to make sure I understand what I'm supposed to be doing and making sure I'm doing it right so I don't screw up.

Now that the eggs are in the incubator I'm relaxing a bit. How often should I check them to circulate air?

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

How often should I check them to circulate air?

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Once a week, and a little more closer to hatching.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I'm sorry. I really am. This is just my first time doing this, and I don't want to make any mistakes. I don't want anything to go wrong so I'm just trying to make sure I understand what I'm supposed to be doing and making sure I'm doing it right so I don't screw up.

Now that the eggs are in the incubator I'm relaxing a bit. How often should I check them to circulate air?

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:D I understand... Its just like Christmas. I'm not trying to break your balls here, I just thought it needed to be said.

I check mine once a week. You should, for learning purposes, check once every few days for a bit, making sure everything is on the up and up.

But don't check for a long period of time. That will allow for huge changes in temperature and humidity.

For next season I am going to invest on a incubator that has a glass front. That way I won't be tempted to open up the incubator all the time. How will I know the eggs are ok?

I know to look for signs of mold and such and make sure the eggs are not wet. If they have mold or are wet, I just wipe it off gently with a cloth or paper towel right?

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I know to look for signs of mold and such and make sure the eggs are not wet. If they have mold or are wet, I just wipe it off gently with a cloth or paper towel right?

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Yes. Wet means you need to change something (make it a tad bit drier), and mold means you need to get some liquid bandaid and put a small coat on the area where the mold is growing.

Ok, thanks! You all have been such a big help! :D

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...009Clutch1.jpg