• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Candycane eggs. Couple ?'s

J

Jessica29

Crazy Alaskan
This is my first time breeding corns and I wasn't expecting eggs for another week. My incubator currently has chicken eggs occupying it. I've seen that some people use a styrofoam cooler with water and an aquarium heater as an easy incubator. How exactly do I set this up. And what temps and humidity do you suggest is best? I've seen anywhere from 80-90 for temps, and 90-100 for humidity. I already have a styrofoam cooler and an aquarium heater. She's not done laying so I've got time to set it up. Thanks for any help. And here's a quick pic of her :)

 
Temps should go no higher than 85. I incubate around 80 to 82 degrees and I average 65 to hatch. I have two large styrofoam coolers that I use. I have a UTH meant for a 20 gallon tank in the bottom of each one, attached to a thermostat. I then took 1/2 " wooden dowels and created a platform a few inches above the UTH by punching them through the sides. The containers of eggs rest upon that. The containers are full of damp moss, with the eggs burred.
 
Once the incubation temps get over 85ish, you start seeing a lot more deformities. It seems like, also, babies are smaller when incubated at higher temps. I shoot for 82-83F. My eggs hatch at around 68-70 days.

I don't put holes in the egg containers- that lets flies in, and is less stabile for the humidity and temp. I open the containers and fan the eggs once a week. Maybe twice. I use HatchRite with a layer of moss covering the eggs.
 
Actually, I have an empty slot in my snake rack. I keep my corns warm side at around 82-84. Maybe I'll just set the egg container there. I have hatchrite somewhere and a lot off moss, so I'll be removing the eggs this afternoon.
 
That should work great. Make sure the egg container isn't directly on the heat. If your Hatchrite bag is open from last year, it will probably be dry. If it's a new bag, it will feel too dry, but it is not.
 
If you can, it's nice to have a probe right in the egg container. Then there is no doubt at all about the incubation temp.
 
Yes I will be stoping to get a separate thermometer with a heat and humidity probe just for the eggs. The bag of hatchrite is open from last year. Should I not use it at all, or do I just mix in a small amount of water a squeeze it out?
 
If it was me, and you can get a new bag, that's what I would do. MAYBE you could put it in the egg container, without eggs, and add a tiny bit of water, then see if you have the right humidity. You should have a fine mist on the sides of the container, not big water droplets, and of course no standing water in the bottom of the container, and no water condensing and dripping off the lid. The layer of moss over the eggs protects them from drips. But you don't want that.
 
Ok. I don't know if anywhere here carries it. But I've seen people find pearlite (I think that's what it's called?) in the gardening section at Home Depot. And when I put a layer of moss over it should it be completely dry or do I dampen it and ring it out? Thanks so much for all the help!
 
The moss should be soaked to fluff it up, and then wrung as dry as you can get it. People say if you think it's too dry, it's probably just right.

I don't know the proper mix for Perlite. You can always just keep them in moss while you order HatchRite. I'd try to rejuvenate the old HatchRite rather than using perlite.
 
Ok so I found vermiculite and perlite and went with vermiculite. I now have the eggs set up with a probe temp/humidity gage. Do they look ok? They're fertile as I just candled them. There is 19 eggs. Here's a pic of then uncovered and then covered with a thin layer of moss.



 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top