In reality, this is a myth that started out of speculation. Because reptile eggs are generally not moved after they are laid, it was assumed that they could be damaged by being moved after they were laid. It made logical sense, so the warning went out. Then it was passed from person to person, and the part about how it was a guess got lost along the way.
Whenever this idea has actually been tested by brave souls willing to move reptile eggs and turn them at various stage of incubation...
...the result has been nil. There is no evidence that the eggs were harmed by it at all.
So I wouldn't worry about it too much.
I'm using substrateless incubation this year, and I'm pretty happy with it. It does work well if you keep the eggs up off the water. I simply set a fluorescent light grate into a HovaBator, over top of the included water reservoir and screen. I filled the reservoir, taped over the air holes, and that was it. It's controlled with a Herpstat, I just removed the wafer thermostat completely.
I have 5 clutches of ball python eggs crammed in there, and they're all incubating perfectly. I've already hatched 3 clutches in it, and just put more eggs in as they were laid.









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