Breeding really that complicated?

[gracefrog]

Ok, please dont get mad at me, Im just ginuenly (sp?) Interested in knowing. And im not gonna argue anything you say, I just want to know why lol!
When you breed your balls, which I have deeply looked into (for the love, not the money) I have gotten so damn confused on exactly how you do everything and the setups, what can I say, Im a little slow. Why exactly do you have to seperate and incubate? Cant they do it on there own, like in the wild? Is there any way to do it, besides like Ive seen, it all looks like you have to put in tons of money. I have plenty of time for it. But since Im not in it for the money, that kinda means I cant afford to go blow our non-existant life savings on the whole thing. thanx!

[matt71915]

you could let the mom do her thing with the eggs but by doing so that lowers the chance of actually hatching them successfully. You have a much better chance of successfully hatching them using an incubator

also by putting the eggs in an incubator you can get the mom back of feeding so she doesnt lose as much weight.

you can easily make an incubator from a fridge or cooler, some flexwatt, a fan, and a t-stat.

craigslist is a good place to find free fridges

the cheapest nice t-stat i have found is a ranco that you have to wire youself, you will save 30$ by wiring it yourself

http://www.climatedoctors.com/items/...?itemid=429705

to wire it
http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index...1000_thermosta

[LGL]

Why exactly do you have to seperate and incubate? Cant they do it on there own, like in the wild?

If you let mom incubate her clutch, that's another two months that she is off feed. It also can be difficult to keep the proper temperature and humidity levels in her cage. Maternal Incubation can be done, but I wouldn't recommend it, especially during someone's first breeding season. I have not allowed any of my females to maternally incubate their eggs, but I know a few experienced people on this site have. It takes work it just prolongs the female's fasting period.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

the incubation isn't that expensive either... my incubator including the thermostat was about $200 bucks. I can use it for years to come. If it saves only one egg from going bad, that one egg will cover the cost of the inubator and then some.

The additional two months the mom is off feed while watching the eggs... she has already been off feed for about 2 months. that is four months off feed! What if she does not go the following year as a result of being off food for 4 months? Then the decision not to use an incubator can cost you a LOT.