Babies!!! Now what??? Housing in incubator?

[ForTozs]

So my first clutch of eggs hatched. I am very excited. They're gorgeous. So I moved the babies out of the incubator into two gladware (1 quart) containers and ran into my first problem. I don't have any heat tape left for them. Would it be ok to leave the gladwares in the incubator to keep them warm? I am wanting to get the reptile basics rack system, but my understanding is that it will take a couple weeks before it'll be ready for me. I would obviously open the incubator periodically to let fresh air in. I would love to hear other rack or housing recommendations. I ordered some fruit flies (flightless hydei) as backup in case they have problems with mealies. When should I try feeding?

 

[thegeckoguy23]

You could put a 6 qt sterlite bin in your incubator (They go around $0.99 each) In your incubator and feed them and do everything almost as if they were in a rack and then when your heat tape comes in I would out them in the rack. But it would be better if you went out and bought two tubs and 2 heat matts and used that until yout heat tape rack stuff somes.


Jake

 

[ForTozs]

OK, thanks. So you're think that 1 qt is too small for a hatchling?

 

[goReptiles]

It's best to be prepared before hatching. Why did u put them in Glad containers anyway?

6 quart is usually minimum. I house mine in the same size tubs as my adults.

The heat mats you would use for a glass tank aren't made to work with plastic tubs

 

[acpart]

I know the directions on the heat mat say they are good for glass only, though the zoo-med 1-5 gallon heater is specifically developed for use with plastic and they still have the same warning. In my opinion, a heat mat used with a thermostat is fine for plastic and I've done it many times. If you're not comfortable with that, another choice is heat cable which is relatively inexpensive and can be used in many configurations. Here are some choices about what to do now:

--get the 6 quart tubs, drill holes on the sides, use the covers that come with the tubs. use heat cable under them and put them on a shelf

--get the largest "faunarium" which measures about 17"x12"x6" and comes with a divider down the middle. Use it the same way as the tubs above. You could probably keep up to 4 hatchlings (2 clutchmates in each section) at first.

Aliza

 

[ForTozs]

OK. I didn't know 1 qt would be too small. I must say these babies look to have about as much space relative to their container as a single adult would in a ten gallon. I have no problem getting a couple six quart containers, but again heat is my main issue. I have trouble trusting heat pads when I am lacking an extra thermostat. I've heard too many horror stories. I will see if I can't find some heat cable locally. Otherwise, their rack should be here in a couple weeks.

 

[UnicornSpirit]

Ummm just buy a couple ten gallon glass tanks- you can probably find them for $10-13 each. Buy a couple reptile lamps and just use ceramic bulbs or red heat bulbs (I use 75 watt for mine but other factors play in like the ambient temp of your room). Make sure you use one of the tanks to separate bigger babies from the smaller ones.

This would be much much safer than using a heat pad or heat tape/rope without a thermostat!

Check out animalplastics.com They have a few sales now and their racks come shipped with the correct amount of HEAT TAPE All pre-wired.