Reptile egg incubation can be a rewarding and frustrating experience. There are many things we can do to give those eggs the best chance possible to hatch. This article will discuss Reptile egg incubation methods, materials, and management. First, we will look at incubation medias, and discuss their different properties then we will look in detail at some methods of management.
There are many substrates used for reptile egg incubation, from peat and perlite, to eggs on a bare screen over a bath of water. There is quite a range of media currently being used, so lets look at some of the more common ones.
Organics
Some people use organic media such as peat, soil, moss, and coconut bedding. These substrates tend to hold large amounts of moisture on their surface, allowing water to wick towards the eggs, which creates a damp surface that can promote the growth of mould and bacteria. Sterilization of organic media is very difficult. Bad bacteria and mould can be living in these organic mixes before you even add your eggs, so working with this kind of media can be very inconsistent.
Vermiculite
Vermiculite is an expanded volcanic media that absorbs a lot of moisture, but has the same wicking characteristics as organic types. vermiculite has deep roots in the Reptile trade, and is still used by many to as an incubation media for eggs. It does work, but very careful moisture management must be practiced to prevent growth of fungus and mould. Condensation build-up in containers using this media is more prevalent than when using other media. Vermiculite when new, is a a fairly sterile product because it is created from an extreme heating process. Sterilizing after use would be difficult. Boiling is nearly impossible because it floats. Baking would be possible, but only viable if you had trouble sourcing new Vermiculite. It is relatively inexpensive, and it is just easier to replace. There are much better options that have proven to give better results.
Perlite
Perlite has gained favour over the last ten years or so, and may well be the most popular media in use today for Reptile egg incubation. Perlite is another volcanic product which is actually a high temperature expanded glass. It is unique in that it is not soft like vermiculite. Perlite is very porous, and can absorb and hold a lot of water within its cells. It is a step up from the media mentioned so far in that it has a stronger capillary action that holds moisture within its pores, which does not promote wicking to other surfaces like your eggs. When properly wet for incubation, it can feel nearly dry to the hand. This allows us a way to hold a lot of water in a container without creating conditions that promotes mould and fungus to grow. It is significantly better than Vermiculite at preventing condensation build-up because holds in its moisture through this more effective capillary action. Our real goal with incubation media is to create humidity in our container without condensation or moisture collecting on the eggs or surface the egg is sitting on. Perlite is very effective for this purpose, but it's use must be carefully monitored because it is very difficult to visibly tell when it is drying out. It is bright white in color, and unlike organic media, and vermiculite, you cannot tell how much moisture it contains without detailed inspection, or most effectively, weighing the mixture. When perlite dries out to the point that the eggs desiccate, they often collapse from the bottom side first, leaving no signs of trouble until you realize your plump egg is concave underneath. This can be a heartbreaking experience, but careful management can easily avoid this from happening. We will discuss incubation management in the next section of this article. Perlite comes in various size grades, and though it can be re used, it is not recommended because it quickly breaks down and looses effectiveness by easily crushing to a powder from friction and handling. Sterilizing would be difficult through boiling, because it floats and breaks down in the process. Baking would be possible, but its low cost just isn't worth the effort.
HatchRite™
This is a new product to the market. It doesn't reveal its ingredients on the label, but most likely, It combines Perlite with Polyacrylamide and water, in a premixed blend that is "ready to use" It offers all the benefits of Perlite in an easy to use product. It does a good job in many situations, but its flexibility is limited in that you cannot reduce the amount of moisture in the product. Some species require very low levels of moisture. It would be possible to "dilute" the product by adding in more regular Perlite. Sterilizing the product for another use would be very difficult, if not impossible, because of the way the product combines the water retaining gel with the Perlite granules. Expense is quite a bit more than regular Perlite or Vermiculite, but it is still not significantly expensive for the non commercial breeder who only incubates eggs on occasion. All in all, it is a great product for those that want a "no brainer" media, and are not working with species that have special requirements.
SuperHatch™
SuperHatch™; is a "New" media for Incubation that has been quietly used by the more advanced Reptile specialists for many years in the USA. It has been used quite commonly for some time in Europe. It is made from Arcillite, which is an inert, neutral, and natural ceramic product that is heat expanded, which creates one of the most porous materials on the planet. It has been used for years in hydroponic culture, as well as Bonsai growing, because of its ability to absorb and store nutrients and water through its superior capillary moisture retaining properties. When someone says... "This the stuff they use in the Space Shuttle" they are telling the truth LOL.... It is the substrate that was chosen by NASA for growing plants in the zero gravity of space because of its unique capillary characteristics. SuperHatch™ can absorb an extremely large amount of water, over than twice that of Perlite for the same volume of media. Because the pores are so small, the moisture is "locked in" to the media and evaporates very slowly. This unique property allows SuperHatch™ to retain large amounts of water, but have that same dry feel as Perlite, keeping moisture away from the eggs. This media also has the advantage of showing its level by changing color. SuperHatch™; is dry, it is a light tan color, when saturated, it is a medium orange/brown color.
This unique characteristic allows a visible way to monitor the level of moisture in the media, something lacking in Perlite based medias. Adding water is as easy as putting the SuperHatch™ in a Sieve, Strainer, or porous bag, and submerging it for a minute in water, then removing and allowing it to drip dry for five minutes. This allows the media to absorb the maximum amount of water, which in most situations is a great level of moisture for the incubation of most reptile eggs. Drier ratios can easily be made by mixing a measured volume of dry media back into the saturated media, or it can be done via a weight/weight or volume/volume measurement of media/water (the same way it is done with Perlite). SuperHatch™ does not break down over time or from friction as Perlite It readily sinks in water, so it can easily be boiled to be sterilized and reused. It's retail list price based on volume (it is much heavier than HatchRite™) is nearly half that of HatchRite™, and it contains no artificial water retaining polymers.
Tips and Techniques
There are many simple methods that can be used with all media that can improve our chances of successfully incubating those precious Reptile Eggs. First, we need to understand our goal. We want to create Humidity, not moisture in our incubation container. We do not want to create a wet environment, just high ambient humidity in the container. We also need to be sure there is a low amount of ventilation, or the occasional exchange of air by opening a sealed container on a regular basis. Eggs are living things, and though their demands are low, they require oxygen to live. a sealed container is not preferable, because in a short amount of time, the air can become stagnant, which can promote condensation and growth mould and bacteria. Ventilation holes should be very small to insure that excessive moisture is not lost through evaporation. The loose fitting lid of a plastic shoebox is sufficient for fresh air exchange.
One key to success is to use the largest container possible. I do not recommend anything smaller than a 16 ounce deli cup for even two eggs. People use 8 ounce cups for gecko eggs all the time, but the risks of success are significantly decreased in my honest opinion. An eight ounce container holds a small amount of media... the less media you have, the more easily, and quickly, evaporation can have detrimental effects. If you have a 16 ounce container with the same surface area, you will have more than twice the media capacity, so you have twice the water capacity, and can lose a lot more water before the levels become critical. Also, the larger the container and more media you use, the less effected your eggs will be by environmental changes outside the container such as temperature changes, which can cause condensation. The container should be filled 2/3 to 3/4 full with media. All you need is enough space to insure the eggs will not touch the lid after the normal swelling that many eggs go through as they are incubated. The more media and larger the container the better.
Let’s look at the World for a second. We know that temperature changes affect the Dewpoint. This is why, when we have cool nights, that in the morning we have dew on our cars, the ground, plant leafs... Dew is really just nature’s version of condensation. Condensation is our biggest Enemy in egg incubating. Excessive condensation creates Dew on our eggs and the inside of the container, often causing droplets to form on the roof. Condensation promotes mould and bacterial growth, which is our enemy in the microclimate we call our "egg box". The larger our container, and the more media we use, the less the contents are effected by environmental changes in temperature. This is not a big factor in a perfectly controlled incubator climate, but can be a disaster for eggs that require, or thrive, with a mild temperature fluctuation. Temperature fluctuation can be an important part of the incubation of the eggs of many species such as geckos, so we must understand the mechanics of providing the best management practices possible. The bottom line is that in all situations, this is an example of "bigger is always better". By using the largest container possible, and choosing the right media, we can significantly increase our rate of success.
Moisture Management for the dedicated hobbyist can be easily done with just a few tools and techniques now that we know the first part of the equation, and we understand what we are striving for in our little micro-chamber. Taking good notes is also essential, so that you can remember your failure and success in years to come. Coming up with a recipe that works for you, and writing it down will insure you get it right every time. There are a lot of variables that can affect our success, so a formula that works for one person in California, might now work for another in North Dakota.
One of the most important tools for any reptile hobbyist is a small scale. Small digital scales can be found for as little as$20, and if you can't afford a scale, you shouldn't be keeping reptiles. Monitoring the weight or your reptiles is essential. Using this same scale to monitor and mix our incubation media can be just as important. The advanced hobbyist ,and eager beginner, will want to do more than "just add water" to their media. The best way to get it right every time with Media such as Vermiculite and Perlite is to mix it by weight. People use ratios from 2:1 Water/Media to 2:1 Media/Water by weight.. This can vary based on environmental conditions, container volume, and ventilation. In general, the larger the container, the higher the Water/Media ratio you can use before condensation occurs. Eggs of some species can tolerate high amounts of condensation, but in no cases is it required, or a good thing. There is no mixing required with HatchRite™, and most of the time, mixing SuperHatch™ with the simple soak method is all that is needed.
If you decide you require lower levels of moisture in your media, or just want to learn more about what you are dong, you must mix by weight to get consistency and develop the perfect formula by using notes based on trial and error. Some simple steps will help you acquire repeat accuracy with your formula. Measuring the weights of your water, media, container with lid, and eggs, are essential to getting it right. Starting with a dry media allows you to know exactly how much moisture is in your formula. Because SuperHatch™ is premixed, you can not accurately measure water loss as a percentage of total water. With all dry media this is possible and can help you understand your formula.
Lets break this down into steps
- Step 1 Weigh your container with lid and note weight
- Step 2 Zero (tare) your scale with container and lid, and then fill to desired level with dry media, noting weight of dry media
- Step 3 Zero (tare) the scale again with dry media, container, and lid. (put lid under container, but on scale, so you can add water)
- Step 4 Add desired amount of water by weight, comparing it to the weight of dry media. Same amount of water by weight as media is a 1:1
- ratio. Note weight of added water
- Step 5 Remove Container and lid from scale, and reset the empty scale to zero
- Step 6 Add eggs to ready media and container, attach lid, and weigh total package as it is ready to go in incubator or be put on shelf. Note Weight.
Now you have some important numbers that we can use to measure our water loss. By knowing the dry weight of the media, and the weight of water added, we can calculate our media/water ratio at any time during the incubation duration.
Example
- Step 1 Our container weighs 200 grams empty with lid
- Step 2 We add 100 grams of dry media by weight
- Step 3 We add 100 grams of water by weight
- Step 4 We add eggs and measure incubator ready container with eggs and it weighs 404 grams
- Step 5 We can see that our eggs weigh 4 grams
Now, we can monitor weekly, by simply weighing the incubation box. and noting weight.
We know that any change in total weight is loss of water, and can calculate our water loss percentage easily. Using the example above we might get a total weight at week 4 of 379 grams.... So we can easily calculate that we now have only 75 grams of water, and dividing the water weight by the dry media weight, gives us a ratio of 3/4-1.... or a 25% loss of water. We can use this calculation to determine if adding back water is necessary or not. The drier you run your formula, the more critical water loss becomes. Many people believe it is actually preferable to let the media dry out a bit towards the end of the incubation term, but this is usually because people start out with too much moisture and have condensation problems that are more detrimental towards the end of the term than at the beginning. As long as there is little or no condensation build-up at term, you don't have to worry about letting it dry out.
If you experience condensation build-up early in the term, you can often simply wipe it off the lid each morning and it will be gone after a few days. Moving eggs can be risky business, so don't panic and try this method before you move the eggs. If you still have condensation after four of five days, then careful movement of the eggs to a more suitable container is the thing to do. If you find you need to add water back to a container, simply pour it down the side of the container and let capillary action soak it into the media. A good egg is hard to kill, but don't take the chance on moving it unless it is absolutely necessary.
I hope you find this information useful. Please visit the incubation forum at www.reptiles.repashy.com for open discussion on the topic and to share your experiences.
Allen Repashy
Information
This is course grade ceramic product (Calcined Clay) It has excellent porosity and is the next generation of egg incubation media.
It does not break apart over time, does not compact, or float. It's color changes based on the amount of water it contains so you can easily monitor visually for changes in moisture level.
It can be re used indefinitely by cooking or boiling to sterilize.
An inert, neutral 100% natural mineral blend, this product lasts year after year without breaking down. Each particle contains thousands of internal and external pore spaces.
SuperHatch™ Label
Instructions
Place SuperHatch™ in a sieve, strainer, or in a porous bag. Soak in water for a few minutes, remove and let drip dry. Add SuperHatch to your incubation container, filling it approx 3/4 full. Add eggs, and you are good to go!
Saturating the SuperHatch™ and letting it drip dry, is a suitable mixture for most species. Some species require less moisture in the container, and this can be easily accomplished by taking the saturated SuperHatch and mixing back in a % of dry SuperHatch. You can also mix SuperHatch™ with Water on a weight/weight, or volume/volume ratio to get the required moisture level.
SuperHatch has extreme porosity combined with very fine internal structure size. This allows SuperHatch™ to absorb and hold large amounts of water with a very slow rate of evaporation, which helps control the quick release of water which causes surface moisture and condensation.
Always use the largest feasible incubation container possible. A minimum recommended size is a 16 ounce container for a pair of gecko eggs, and a shoebox size container for 10-20 eggs. The more volume in the container, the last drastic environmental changes can affect the conditions inside the container.
For discussion of more info, tips and techniques, please visit www.forums.repashy.com
CAUTION:
Do not swallow.
Avoid contact with eyes, open sores, or cuts.
Wash Hands after use.
Keep out of reach of children.
Ingredient 100% Arcillite. |
