Posted by Nephrurus on the BCF September 2004

 This was my 4th year breeding retics, I have never once considered leaving the eggs with the female.

IMO, taking the eggs from the females and artificially incubating the eggs is the only way to go. I don't know anyone that DOES leave the eggs with the female.

Taking the eggs from the female allows you to:

1. Directly control the environment that the eggs are in.

2. get the female back on food in a matter of weeks.

3. make sure every egg has a chance of hatching. ( The female can sometimes defficate on the eggs and it will cause them to turn bad)

I made my own incubator, its not terribly hard, but you have to build it around the massive clutch size of a retic. Your standard foam "hovabator" type incubator is completly useless in this situation. Many people find old refridgirator(sp?)/ freezer/ drink coolers, and convert them into an incubator.

Hypathetically, you find a upright freezer, take out the shelves and clean it out very well, get you a 8-10ft peice of the 11" wide flexwatt heat tape and affix it to the inner wall of the freezer, all the way around the sides and bottom. you'll need 2-4 little computer fans, for air circulation. The idea is to have all the shelves in the incubator reading the same temperature. One fan facing down, one facing left, one facing up, one facing right....and you should be set there. Wire up the flexwatt, drill a small hole in the freezer, thread a electric wire (extension cord with plug lopped off) through the hole, wire it up, make it safe so you don't shock yourself. Four to six small (1/4") air holes at the bottom should provide proper gas exchange.

OK, now most of the hard part is done, next you need to decide on a digital preportional thermostat. I use a Big Apple "herp-power" thermo and Mike uses Helix....these are the only 2 brands I would trust on an incubator with thousands of dollars worth of eggs in it.

Mike, Bob, and myself all use 28qt rubbermaid high-top boxes to contain retic eggs while incubating. These boxes will comfortably fit any average retic clutch in them. I put 4, 1/16" holes (one in each corner) in the lide of the box for good gas exchange.

Next, we put about 2 inches of vermiculite or a vermiculite/perlite mixture(50/50), the ratio of water to vermiculite is 1:1 by WEIGHT......confidentially, I have never weighed vermiculite in my life, I just go by when it feels right.

Now, your incubator has been running for a couple days, your happy with the the ambient temperature, and you've figure out how to run your thermostat, you've even gotten anxious and made up a box of vermiculite and water days in advance of your female retic laying her eggs.

HOLY POOP ON A STICK BATMAN!!!!

You walk into your snake room to discover your retic has laid her eggs things to do are:

1. Get some help, even if they are just watching and you are going to do all the work. At least one additional person besides yourself NEEDS to be there.

2. Have your incubation box handy so the eggs you are getting ready to steal can quickly go into the incubator.

3. Stratagy is good, think of exactly how you want to toss the female off the eggs. Mistakes at this point could cost you nice bill for stiches or even your life, remember those are HER BABIES, she will die for them.

4. Get some welders gloves on and get the female off the eggs, carefully...

OK, shes off the eggs, you will now notice that most if not all the eggs are stuck tugether quite firmly. DO NOT try and seperate them from one another. Gently, move and lift the entire clutch out of the snakes cage. If you are doing this from any serious distance from the ground, have your helper hold the incubation box under the clutch as you gently lower them to the ground.

***sigh***

OK, now your eggs are safely in their box, the mother snakes cage is closed, and you are making your way to the incubator with your new retic eggs.

you should have a thermometer or a some sort of temperature sensor in with the eggs durring incubation, it will help you be less paranoid.

Retic eggs take 87 days to hatch at 90 degrees, less than 90 they take longer to hatch, more than 90 they cook.

Check on them once every couple weeks, make sure the vermiculite feels like its still retaining moisture well and that all the eggs appear white, healthy and full, no colapsing.

Thats pretty much it, just sit back, try not to worry about them. after a couple months, you should start planning housing for babies and lining up buyers.

I can't think of anything else...oops...one more thing.

Your female will not eat until she sheds, wich will be 2-4 weeks after she laid her eggs. After sfe sheds, take her out and clean the cage very well, she will not eat if she still smells her eggs.