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Guess not this year

M

MaddestLove

New member
All my clutch died. I went on vacation and found maggots in the container eating the eggs. I don't even know how they got in the container. There were 5 eggs left and they all had maggots in them. I cut the eggs open and found all 5 had snakes in them. I'm so mad. I guess there is always next year
 
Best thing to do is to try and find out what you can do different next year and use this one as a learning experience. Don't get discouraged, it happens :)
 
chris68 said:
Best thing to do is to try and find out what you can do different next year and use this one as a learning experience. Don't get discouraged, it happens :)
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I have done some more research and my dad is helping me with it too. He said well there is always next year. If I play my cards right I may have 3 clutches. We've found some cheap but good incubators and I am looking into hatch rite. I'm trying to keep my chin up about it but it kind of sucks when I know there were babies in the eggs.
 
Been there done that :( I've heard good and bad on the hatchrite. I have great luck with perlite, vermiculite is supposed to work as good and isn't as scratchy, and i have no luck whatsoever with any type of moss.
 
chris68 said:
Been there done that :( I've heard good and bad on the hatchrite. I have great luck with perlite, vermiculite is supposed to work as good and isn't as scratchy, and i have no luck whatsoever with any type of moss.
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I used vermiculite but it made the eggs go moldy but I might just keep using it. It's cheap and I can get a big bag of it. Maybe I'll try perlite next year. We'll see...
 
If the egg containers don't have holes, flies can't get in to lay eggs. You just need to open the lids once or twice a week for a moment and fan the eggs for air exchange.

I'm sorry you lost the clutch.
 
Nanci said:
If the egg containers don't have holes, flies can't get in to lay eggs. You just need to open the lids once or twice a week for a moment and fan the eggs for air exchange.

I'm sorry you lost the clutch.
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I think a nat might have gotten in it when I was checking them before I left and it just took off from there.
Thank you for your sympathy. There is always next year and Ive learned a lot from this clutch.
 
I remember from your earlier posts that you had a temp spike in the high 90s earlier in the incubation. Must admit I wasn't too hopeful after that, but didn't like to say so just in case I jinxed you.

90 is the danger point at which the embryos can die, or can suffer developmental abnormalities. I suspect that's what did the damage this year. If you can find a way of giving them a heat source that you can keep stable, then that will give you a fighting chance next year. Also a digital thermometer, so you can make sure that they stay below that 90 degree danger point. I aim for the low-mid 80s.

If you have trouble with maggots or other pests, you can put them in an airtight tub to make sure that nothing can sneak in through ar holes. Opening the lid once every couple of days to check them, will give them all the air they need until they hatch.

Also swapping to inorganic incubation substrate will discourage creepy crawlies if you're not already using it. I use damp vermiculite to sit the eggs in, then cover them with a sheet of damp kitchen paper to keep the humidity up. This is especially helpful when eggs are laid in a clump and you can't get the top eggs in contact with the vermiculite.

You also need to keep a bit of an eye on humidity. Incubating conditions which are too wet have been linked to kinked hatchlings. I've never measured the humidity in incubation tubs, but I go by how much there is on the underside of the lid when I lift it. I like to see a lot of small fine droplets. If there's a lot of condensation in bit drops, I dry things out a bit by wiping the condensation off the lid and container sides with kitchen paper. If the eggs start to dimple during the process then this can be caused by low humidity. I re-wet the kitchen paper over the eggs (with water of the right temperature) or if it seems severe, I trickle a little extra water into the vermiculite down the inside of the tub. However I don't like doing this as it's easy to add too much.

Near the end of incubation, dimpling can also show that the eggs are about to hatch, so it's not always bad news.

I hope you have better luck next year. Sorry this year didn't work out for you.
 
I used vermiculite but it made the eggs go moldy
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Vermiculite is inert and won't cause mold by itself. However if mold is present it will grow very nicely in any warm damp environment.

Make sure you disinfect the egg container thoroughly before you put the eggs in, to deal with any mold spores which might be present. I'd also buy a fresh bag of vermiculite for next year if you decide to stick with it.
 
bitsy said:
I remember from your earlier posts that you had a temp spike in the high 90s earlier in the incubation. Must admit I wasn't too hopeful after that, but didn't like to say so just in case I jinxed you.

90 is the danger point at which the embryos can die, or can suffer developmental abnormalities. I suspect that's what did the damage this year. If you can find a way of giving them a heat source that you can keep stable, then that will give you a fighting chance next year. Also a digital thermometer, so you can make sure that they stay below that 90 degree danger point. I aim for the low-mid 80s.

If you have trouble with maggots or other pests, you can put them in an airtight tub to make sure that nothing can sneak in through ar holes. Opening the lid once every couple of days to check them, will give them all the air they need until they hatch.

Also swapping to inorganic incubation substrate will discourage creepy crawlies if you're not already using it. I use damp vermiculite to sit the eggs in, then cover them with a sheet of damp kitchen paper to keep the humidity up. This is especially helpful when eggs are laid in a clump and you can't get the top eggs in contact with the vermiculite.

You also need to keep a bit of an eye on humidity. Incubating conditions which are too wet have been linked to kinked hatchlings. I've never measured the humidity in incubation tubs, but I go by how much there is on the underside of the lid when I lift it. I like to see a lot of small fine droplets. If there's a lot of condensation in bit drops, I dry things out a bit by wiping the condensation off the lid and container sides with kitchen paper. If the eggs start to dimple during the process then this can be caused by low humidity. I re-wet the kitchen paper over the eggs (with water of the right temperature) or if it seems severe, I trickle a little extra water into the vermiculite down the inside of the tub. However I don't like doing this as it's easy to add too much.

Near the end of incubation, dimpling can also show that the eggs are about to hatch, so it's not always bad news.

I hope you have better luck next year. Sorry this year didn't work out for you.
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Thanks for all the advice. I think I jinxed myself when I told my ex they didn't make it so he couldn't have any of the babes
 
bitsy said:
Vermiculite is inert and won't cause mold by itself. However if mold is present it will grow very nicely in any warm damp environment.

Make sure you disinfect the egg container thoroughly before you put the eggs in to deal with any mold spores which might be present. I'd also buy a fresh bag of vermiculite for next year if you decide to stick with it.
Click to expand...

I may just go find some brand new containers just for the purpose of the eggs and I might have one clutch in perlite and the other in vermiculite just to see which one fairs better.
 
It's definitely worth trying both to see whether one works better than the other. I found perlite gets waterlogged quite easily and was more difficult to keep at the right level of dampness. However plenty of folks here use perlite successfully. I think it's just down to what works best for your setup.
 
bitsy said:
It's definitely worth trying both to see whether one works better than the other. I found perlite gets waterlogged quite easily and was more difficult to keep at the right level of dampness. However plenty of folks here use perlite successfully. I think it's just down to what works best for your setup.
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I really didn't have a problem with vermiculite I just think I'm not quite experienced yet. This was the third clutch ever produced and this one I took interest in and tried to hatch. I have books to help me out now. I think I almost have every book for corn snakes lol. My friend is allowing me to mate my sister's snake with her's so I'm hoping to try my hand again. If I can't get a single one to hatch I'll give up and never try again.
 
You were very close this year - I'm sure it was just that temp spike which caused the problem.

Generally, healthy eggs can get a little mold on them and still survive to hatch. If you see mold again, you can wipe the eggs with a little Listerine on a cotton bud to clean it off and give a bit of protection.
 
If you're only going to have three clutches, why not buy a bag of HatchRite for $15 and take all the guesswork out of it? Pour it in, forget about it. Cover with a layer of very, very wrung-out moss.

I use those organic lettuce containers for egg containers. They are crystal clear so you can see how much humidity is gathering on the sides of the containers in the form of mist.
 
bitsy said:
You were very close this year - I'm sure it was just that temp spike which caused the problem.

Generally, healthy eggs can get a little mold on them and still survive to hatch. If you see mold again, you can wipe the eggs with a little Listerine on a cotton bud to clean it off and give a bit of protection.
Click to expand...

I was cleaning them off but the mold kept coming back.
 
Nanci said:
If you're only going to have three clutches, why not buy a bag of HatchRite for $15 and take all the guesswork out of it? Pour it in, forget about it. Cover with a layer of very, very wrung-out moss.

I use those organic lettuce containers for egg containers. They are crystal clear so you can see how much humidity is gathering on the sides of the containers in the form of mist.
Click to expand...

I used a glad box but I didn't know I wasn't suppose to put holes in the box so that might have made things go wrong
 
I used a glad box but I didn't know I wasn't suppose to put holes in the box so that might have made things go wrong
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Well it isn't a hard-and-fast rule. I incubated successfully for a few years with airholes in the tubs and only started to use airtight ones when I realised that they were drying out too fast and the humidity kept wobbling about.

A lot of breeding, incubating and hatchling care is about trying a few things and just seeing what works for you. Different techniques work for different setups and situations.

Don't be discouraged - next year could be your lucky year!
 
Yes, we aren't trying to be critical- just offering suggestions of what works for us, which is different for everyone. I'm positive you'll have babies next season!!
 
Nanci said:
Yes, we aren't trying to be critical- just offering suggestions of what works for us, which is different for everyone. I'm positive you'll have babies next season!!
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Oh I know you all are not being critical. You guys are helping me learn and I thank you all for that
 
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