Okay to plug the hole in a hovabator?

[justin-branam]

I am using vermiculite in my Hovabator. The problem is, it is drying out about every 7-10 days. I am thinking the ventilation holes may be drawing in too much fresh air. Would it be okay to plug all of the holes around the bottom of the hovabator? I would of course let in fresh air once a week.

also on another note, is it neccesary to "replace the snap switch and thermostat wafer on a regular basis", or is this just a money making thing that big apple herp is trying to pull. if it is neccesary, how often is "on a regular basis"

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Do you have lids on your deli cups? That will keep the moisture in them. I plugged the holes in the top of the hovabator but not the bottom from what I can remember.

If it goes bad you would need to replace it but mine hasn't and Ive had my oldest for 4 years.

 

[brandy101010]

I keep my vemic in a deli cup with a lid and I have never had a problem with it drying out. infact I never had to re-moisten the vermic. Maybe your not using enough water? When you prepare your deli cup for eggs. wet the vermiculite and then ring it out in your hand untill the water stops coming out, then you should be good to go.

 

[justin-branam]

Wow, i feel like an idiot. The place i got the incubator from told me just to put the vermiculite right in the incubator and then put the eggs on top of it! didnt mention anything about deli cups. Never even thought about it every time i read about people putting their eggs in the cups! I guess i need to go to the store.

What size cups do you all use, and how many eggs per cup (i assume 2 if they are laid at the same time)?

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Hey, I made the exact same mistake with my first eggs a few years ago, so its not just you.

It depends on the container size as to how many eggs you can put in.

here is a good link for you:
http://www.albeysreptiles.com/incubate-eggs.htm

Here is a look at my containers but I modified my hova bator to get more space:

 

[GoGo]

I could ahve sworn i posted here. I will use 1 per cup, so if one hatches first, they dont accidentally end their siblings before life.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

I put multiple clutches per conatiner depending on what groupo they came from and Ive not had any end their siblings life.

 

[GoGo]

Mmm well i have very small deli cups at my disposal so im worried that would happen with the cramped space of 1 hatchling, vermiculite and 1 other egg.

 

[brandy101010]

I have not been breeding long but I have never had a hatchling destroy an egg either. I'm sure it's possible but probably not likely to happen. most hatchling sorta just chill for awhile. They dont normaly run around digging and trashing around. The most that would probably hapen is them move an egg and it get turned over or something, but if you mark your eggs you can just turn it back the way it was. you could run out of room quickly using only one egg per container, unless your only breeding one pair.

 

[GoGo]

I am only breeding one pair this year. A mack snow/pastel x albino pair.

 

[BalloonzForU]

I've been using one deli cup per clutch in the past, but have now decided to use larger containers to incubate multiple clutches for each female. I don't mix female containers so I know who the parents are.

Marking the top of the eggs help if the clutchmate come out first and turns the egg. They don't always turn the eggs, but it's a good way to make sure so you can straighten them to right side up in case they do.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I use one sealed tupperware container for each female, which fits about 8-10 eggs. I use 1 part vermiculite to .8 part water. I mark the eggs with the clutch number, and have never had one hatchling eat or injure the other.