Moving gravid females and eggs in the bator.

[twistedtails]

Well, looks I'm gonna be moving into a house with a snake room!!! The big worry I have is moving the eggs that are in the incubator(WTF do I do??). I also still have a few gravid females that are due to lay after the date that I move. What do you guys think I should do? Any suggestions you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

[musicalKeyes]

I've had to move chicken eggs before. I very carefully stuffed crumpled paper towels around them to stop them from moving, put the entire incubator on the floor of my car, and drove really carefully. I don't know about doing that with BP eggs though, because the paper towels would suck up all the moisture, but it would keep them from moving at all. What's your incubator like? you could get a big styrofoam box, like a bait box, and put the whole thing in there. Is it a very far drive?

[badmagic2006]

How far is the move? How long will it take to get from point a to point b? Also what are you using for an incubator?

[twistedtails]

I've had to move chicken eggs before. I very carefully stuffed crumpled paper towels around them to stop them from moving, put the entire incubator on the floor of my car, and drove really carefully. I don't know about doing that with BP eggs though, because the paper towels would suck up all the moisture, but it would keep them from moving at all. What's your incubator like? you could get a big styrofoam box, like a bait box, and put the whole thing in there. Is it a very far drive?

The drive isn't too far, it's about 25 mins from where I am now. I wish I could put my incubator in the back seat of my car....Here is a pic of it during the build...

[Dave Green]

Mike, don't sweat it too much, just be very careful. I moved eggs from NJ to AZ via an RV. I had no idea how badly RVs rattle until we hit the road and figured I'd lose the eggs. I padded them as much as possible and added more vermiculite so they wouldn't roll. I actually hatched a clutch on the way. Another hatched a month later. I didn't have gravid females but I would just pad them as much as possible and move them as gently as possible.

[badmagic2006]

Find a way to secure the eggs so they will not get "f'd" up. Then rent a gas powered generator and plug the incubator into it for the transport. Also a power converter will do the same thing. Be quick but carefull and get the incubator plugged back in as quickly as possible. It should stay moderatly warm in the incubator as it is but I do agree that its a scarey situation.

[Dave Green]

Also, I think eggs are much hardier then many believe. I had a small incubator but could only run it for about 10 hours a day when we stopped for the night. During travel I would throw a few heat packs in the incubator to keep temps up but it still dropped to 80 degrees or so. It took 5 days and there were no ill effects that I saw. All eggs hatched and the babies did well.

[twistedtails]

Thanks David. I figured I'm just being a worrywart. It makes me feel better knowing you guys went alot further that I am planning to.

[West Coast Jungle]

Davids right they will be fine. Last year another member here Chris Collett had a surprise clutch of eggs, he called me worried that he had no bator. He brought them to me about 30- 40 miles away and i put them in my incubator. He set up his own bator and came back for them several weeks later. They all hatched fine even though they been through multiple car rides without any temp control during travel.

I would takes them out of the bator, move the bator to the new location and then bring eggs. As mentioned they are alot tougher then you might think. Also if the egg box is sealed the temp change should be real gradual. In nature things dont stay perfect like in a bator

[Turbo Serpent]

Mike, don't sweat it too much, just be very careful. I moved eggs from NJ to AZ via an RV. I had no idea how badly RVs rattle until we hit the road and figured I'd lose the eggs. I padded them as much as possible and added more vermiculite so they wouldn't roll. I actually hatched a clutch on the way. Another hatched a month later. I didn't have gravid females but I would just pad them as much as possible and move them as gently as possible.

That makes me feel a lot better. I am expecting at least 2 clutches in the next few weeks, but my wife may have to transport eggs from OR to SC if I get setup and more clutches come. Wasn't sure if they would make it, but this gives me some hope.