Clutch too big for one incubator?

[Meredithm115]

Hi! First time breeder and I want to do everything right, but I need some help, I set up an incubator expecting a clutch of 5 or 6 eggs because that's what 90% of clutches are sized apparently? My 3300 g girl is about a week from laying and looking so big and uncomfortable, to those that have some experience, could you look at these pictures from last night and this morning and tell me if this looks like a 6 egg clutch or if I need to set up a second incubator? Thank you!!

[Lord Sorril]

Big girls have the capability to lay big eggs, and there is always the possibility of slugs...I would not worry just yet.

What are you using for an incubator?

[JacksReptiles]

You weighed her? Lol did she try to take a chunk out of your arm?

[Meredithm115]

Very true, as of right now I have an insulated cooler, a monitored heating pad, and a tub with perlite and a screen to keep them from getting wet. The cooler is only big enough for this tub, I would have to buy a bigger cooler and a larger heat mat to keep up to temp, potentially

[Meredithm115]

Lmao, I weighed her inside a lay box and then later weighed the lay box alone to get a close weight, and only hissed lol

[303_enfield]

Worse case, take some an let mom hatch some.

Good luck!

[Bogertophis]

As far as those "typical 6-egg clutches", check out this thread that was just posted: I didn't keep score but there's a number of 7-8 egg clutches.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...32#post2754632

[nikkubus]

At 3000g, it is highly unlikely she is having 6 or less eggs. It's impossible to say by looking at her how many she will have, but 3k girls can easily have more than double that. You may want to rethink your incubator system all together to something more suitable.

This is my suggestion for a cheap and easy way to go without having to find a broken fridge (or a truck to transport it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUIRtUFjgfQ
Walmart was selling a similar model cooler (actually slightly larger) for $69 when I was there. It doesn't have the lips the exact same size/way that Garrett mentions to fit his boxes, but you can just make a little frame out of light diffuser and zip ties so water circulates and the tubs have something to sit on.