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Early introductions

carnivorouszoo said:
If you can't get the moss try pearlite, I hear its nicer than vermiculite. :shrugs:
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I've not tried perlite before. The moss seems to hold the humidity better for layboxes (which lose water through the hole in the top of the box) so I'm off to see what I can get 'round the shops.
 
Absolutely no luck with getting moss! I've got organic peatmoss compost without any fertiliser to try. It's holding the humidity better than plain vermiculite and all the girls have been exploring and digging around in their layboxes.
So now I'm hoping I'm on the count-down to eggs. Belle has just shed (prelay? fingers crossed) Annie, Polly and Sundance are blue. All the girls are a nice healthy shape so I'm hoping keeping them lean will pay off in all their eggs (or slugs) being passed without trouble)
 
First up, Belle, still eating ravenously, and not in the mood to let me feel if she's egged up!
Second, Polly, all full up and looking so uncomfortable, but sweet and dopey.
Then Sundance, in shed, fat as can be and 'jello back' showing!
(The other 3 girls were not in the mood for photo-shoots, I left them alone in their lay-boxes)
 

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They look so uncomfortable. Good luck with the next 2 weeks and all the girls dropping eggs. Looks as though you're going to have plenty.
 
Thanks. I'll be setting up the new incubator on Thursday, so it gets a chance to stabilise before they lay.
 
No eggs here yet. Thankfully, because the incubator is running a little warm and there's an invasion of tiny little flies in the layboxes! I've sprinkled diatomaceous earth to see if I can kill the pests.
 
I hate those little gnats. They drive me crazy and they are tough to swat. It makes you look crazy trying to swat a fly nobody else can see.
 
I hear you Wade! I don't want to disturb the girls too much, they are all digging around and settling in the layboxes, so I've sprinkled the diatomaceous earth in their substrate around the boxes. Don't want to use any chemical control this close to laying.
 
The diatomaceous earth is working, only a couple of the little flies left. Fat girlies all around, Annie has eggs right to her vent and Kate has gone into blue again (2 prelay sheds?) Here's Belle, Pearl, Sundance and Polly
 

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:dancer:I'm so happy!:dancer:
Sundance has laid 18 or so beautiful eggs, no slugs, no eggs retained. I can't get an accurate count because the clump is so packed. Here's the momma and the clump.
 

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Oh the horror! The plug socket for the incubator got turned off by accident when I went to bed this morning, so the temp had gone down to 70. It had been holding at a nice steady 80, I must have flicked the switch off instead of my bedside lamp. I'm hoping the time at a lower temperature won't have killed Sundance's eggs.
 
I don't think a drop to 70 overnight is going to cause any problems, especially since it takes longer for the inside of an incubation container full of eggs and incubation medium to cool to match the outer temp. All it did was slow the growth for a few hours, nothing more. It's the high temps that can be lethal to incubating eggs.
 
Holding steady at 79-80 now, phew!
Sundance took a medium mouse tonight, so she can build her strength up again. :dancer:
 
No new clutches yet. I'm trying to prevent myself getting checkitis............
 

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