Does Albey's method work with the S.I.M.?

[geckoman1]

I bough the S.I.M. and I was wondering if the Albey's method is good to use it in the S.I.M. Since the eggs are not in contact with the substrate I have my doubts. Please let me know, thank you.

 

[Gregg M]

It all depends but generally you want to run the SIM a bit wetter than a 1 to .8 ratio...

 

[Johnantny]

For my eggs, I used drenched and drained perlite. I'm incubating dwarf monitor eggs and they go 90-120 days duration.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

I would say no it does not. The water ratio needs to be much higher since the eggs are not on the actual substrate. I have mine so that if you squeeze it there will be drops of water falling. Not so much that when squeezed into a snow ball you can have a steady stream of water but just enough to have continual drops. With the SIM you can be as liberal as you want with the water substrate ratio IMO.

 

[robin]

i don't think anyone really knows.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

i don't think anyone really knows.

I am the subject matter genius robin :main_yes:.

I would have to agree with robin though. Just play with the SIM until you find what works for you and your incubator.

 

[Gregg M]

Well the point of the SIM container is so you do not need to worry much about your water to substrate ration... You can run the SIM pretty wet without fear of over staturating your eggs...

Basically, a 1 to 1 ratio works well in the proper incubator... With the Hovabator or any top heated style incubator there is an apparent issue with the SIM building enough condensation to properly hydrate the eggs inside... It does not matter how much water is added to the substrate...

The 1 to 1 ratio has been tested in other incubators with great success... My advice is to start with the 1 to 1 and go up from there... What you want to see is condensation on the sides an inch past the grid... If you see a fine mist on the lid, that is good too... You just dont want water dropplets forming on the lid...

The SIM container should be set up and in proper condition before eggs are added... It should only take a couple of hours to see the condensation...

 

[acpart]

Here's another related question: I started with perlite 1:1 and had to add way more water (maybe as much as 2 or 3 cups) in order to get the "rainforest" in the SIM at 82 in a reptipro5000. After adding so much water, I figured that a substrate that was all water would be better so I set up a SIM with hydrated water crystals up to the fill line and put it on the floor of the reptipro. The cheap zoomed hygrometer reads just shy of 90% humidity (when I had it in the other SIM it seemed that in order to get the rainforest the humidity had to be a bit past 90%) but no rainforest. I figured water crystals would do better than perlite and water. Am I wrong?

Aliza

 

[Tony C]

Maybe the perlite evaporates more water because it is porous and has a large surface area, while water crystals may tend to hold onto more water because it is bonded to the polymer. I don't know if that's true, but it is a possibility that makes sense to me.

 

[KelliH]

Here's another related question: I started with perlite 1:1 and had to add way more water (maybe as much as 2 or 3 cups) in order to get the "rainforest" in the SIM at 82 in a reptipro5000. After adding so much water, I figured that a substrate that was all water would be better so I set up a SIM with hydrated water crystals up to the fill line and put it on the floor of the reptipro. The cheap zoomed hygrometer reads just shy of 90% humidity (when I had it in the other SIM it seemed that in order to get the rainforest the humidity had to be a bit past 90%) but no rainforest. I figured water crystals would do better than perlite and water. Am I wrong?

Aliza

Is that reptipro incubator heated from above, like the Hova?

 

[robin]

Is that reptipro incubator heated from above, like the Hova?

i think it heats from the back.

 

[acpart]

Yes, it heats from the lower part of the back and is similar to the MRP148. I think I'm going to recycle my water crystals to the crickets and fill with perlite and lots of water (not that my leos seem to be in any rush to lay eggs this season)

Aliza