It's all done Roy! Incubator is complete!

[BoidKeeper]

Here it is all finished,
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/289Corn_Incubator_04_04_04-med.jpg
Close up of the "guts",
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/289Corn_Incubator_2_04_04_04-med.jpg
Thanks for looking,
Trevor

[Tim_Cranwill]

Nicely done! :)

[BoidKeeper]

Thanks Tim. Unkie Roy wouldn't allow me to call it finished until I had all the conections cleaned up and tucked away.
I think he'll agree it looks much better now.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Stockwell]

Looks much better Trev!! Sorry about being so fussy.
Wire dressing is important. It improves safety, and makes a project look professional.
My only concern now is the fan..Is it mounted securely? You don't want it falling over. I'd probably put 4 long screws through the mounting holes in the fan and right into the lid of the electrical box..You could put it on long 3 inch screws as stand-offs, using nuts to hold it rigidly. You could also simply hang it from the shelf above with coat hanger wire too, just as long is it doesn't fall over
Just one other point.. When your eggs hatch you better get the babies out of those sterilites fast. Those lids suck and will not hold babies in, especially not corns. The rubbermaid shoeboxes have much better lids(the white lids-Walmart). They cost more, but its worth it.
I have personally lost baby snakes out of those damn sterilites.. I threw mine out.
Watch your hole size too in those containers. Baby corns can squeeze through surprisingly small holes. That one on the upper left, is getting dangerously large. The one next to it on the right looks about right. Keep holes around 1/8
Best wishes for a great season!

[BoidKeeper]

Thanks Roy. Yup the fan is the only thing left to be secured. As for the containers, I know all about them already. I haven't lost a snake but they are what I use in my baby rack. I stack them and the top one has rubber bands on it to secure the lid.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Katt]

This is totally unrelated, but I love how Unkie Roy has come so far!

[Simon]

Nice looking incubator~

but isn't this a bit too small?
I thought you had more breeding stocks to fill up that incubator?

My incubator can hold up to 24 clutches and I have 3 of them..so I think that you'll be needing to make another one of those great looking incubators soon again~~

[BoidKeeper]

LOL. You forget Simon, my name is BoidKeeper not CornKeeper! Only 4 clutchs this year of corns but in total I might be producing over 140 offspring this year if everything works out.
That being said I am already thinking about next years corn incubator. I'm looking at converting an old deep freeze.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

Originally posted by BoidKeeper
LOL. You forget Simon, my name is BoidKeeper not CornKeeper! Only 4 clutchs this year of corns but in total I might be producing over 140 offspring this year if everything works out.
That being said I am already thinking about next years corn incubator. I'm looking at converting an old deep freeze.
Cheers,
Trevor

LOL...see...you'll be hating yourself for making a small incubator and would think to yourself...

"man..I should of made the big one a long time ago"....lol~~

I am expecting close to 900-1000 hatchlings this year~~
so it's really going to be a busy summer for me again~~

[BoidKeeper]

Busy, that's an understatement! Even if all I was producing this year was four clutchs of corns I still couldn't sell them all in NB. Where are you going to sell all those?
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

Originally posted by BoidKeeper
Busy, that's an understatement! Even if all I was producing this year was four clutchs of corns I still couldn't sell them all in NB. Where are you going to sell all those?
Cheers,
Trevor

Well I usually just wholesell them out and keep back the 'higher end morphs'.

Right now I have 6 wholesalers. So if each just takes 100 of them then I am down to 2-300 only. That means I have those 'high end morphs' to keep back and feed. I mean if those don't sell at shows and all I can just take them home feed them up to size and start breeding again....lol~~

besides...I have 3 years to feed them and sell them out before they're good to breed agian..right? Last year I had around 800 (maybe a bit less...) and I wholesaled most of them and had to go to shows and sell them really cheaply (and people hated me because of that..) but heck...I have to do it...or else I'll either be stuck with dead hatchlings because I am too busy to feed every single one of them (plus I might miss a couple) or I'll be over run by them and I die because of hunger...(no time to eat)

But all is good and from last year's hatchling I am only down to 4 hatchlings that I want to sell out. They're eating but growing slowly and 4 extra little ones to keep isn't too much~~

So yeah defintely wholesalers is a must!

[BoidKeeper]

Well call me crazy Simon but have you ever thought of cutting back?
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

Trevor,

Yes...infact it I am really thinking about it this year....and what I mean by cutting back is actually getting out of everything...

As some of you might know I am running a clothing manufacturing in China....and well sometimes it's just really hard not going back to China to work and all....I have lots of other workers that are working for me...but heck...it's just not the same without myself putting some work into it...makes decision a whoe lot easier (plus I wont have to basically work 24/7.....

so yeah...I have been thinking...I might get out of everything in Oct and just head back to China....sucks but work is work....it's always either money or fun....and I might just have to stick with money for now...maybe when I really retire I'll come back and join the herp community again...but still in the thinking process....

[BoidKeeper]

Well that's certainly not a something I would like to have to decide on. You would be missed by the herp community that's for sure.
That being said if I can keep something for you until you get back into it don't hesitate to ask!
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

Trevor,

Thanks in advance!!
But really if I do decide to go back I should be gone for at least a good couple of years....that I don't really think that I'll be back until like 30-40 years later or even more.....so that is why the decision is so hard.....I love my herps....but yet I have to plan for my future....sigh~~

[BoidKeeper]

Tough choice Simon....but I still want your snakes!
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

Not a problem at all
If I were to sell them I'll come and ask you first~
I'll let you have a first pick~
how does that sound to you?

HOpefully I wont have to go back......hahah

[Optimus Prime]

That is one sweet lookin incubator :)

[BoidKeeper]

how does that sound to you?
Like a herp dream come true!
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

Good
glad that you like my plan~~

Trevor,
one more thing.
I was at the show today and was wondering around with Brian and we didn't find a good miami that was suitable for your female.

So I guess you'll have to wait a bit more~~
hahahahahah

[BoidKeeper]

No worries. Thanks for looking though I really appriciate it. It's rough not being able to go my self. However, it's nice having experienced herpers looking for you.
So, when are you going to have Miamis? lol
Cheers,
Trevor

[Simon]

lol
well I was suppose to have a clutch already.
But then my female got egg bound and didn't even lay one single egg out.
I am trying to remove the eggs from her but then she even have her oviduct prolasped. So this is going to be real bad....plus she is refusing food and all (she used to be one of my best feeder.) So this isn't looking good for sure.

I am waiting for another female to start poping though. Once she does I'll let you know~~

[BoidKeeper]

Have you tired draining the egg buy sucking out the contents with a syringe?
Trevor

[Simon]

yup
but the thing is that it's been too long now
the liquid in the eggs are now basically solid since the eggs have died inside her already.

I tried it with the first couple of eggs and it worked great.
Cause I think that she has 14 eggs in her total. Got the first 3 out of her with the syringe thing. No problem at all. Then at the 4th one she started pooping and all (I think that ti's because of this poop that she has in her that basically started the egg binding)

After her poop, the eggs inside I know for sure it's all dead. Then tried the syringe again..nope. No liquid and I can feel that it was harder than the others to insert the syringe into.

So after the syringe, it's massage time.
Massaged every couple of days, let her run around the floor (following her for around 30 min) then put her back. Seemed to be working until the 4th egg came out....once it's out (she laid on her own sometime during the night) and then she has her oviduct prolasped.....no nothing is coming out anymore....so this is why I am so worried about her.

With the prolasped oviduct I have been soaking her in sugar water and the oviduct has been reducing in size. But still not all the way back in....suck yeah?