October 31, 2005
Box Turtle Egg Incubator
Things you will need:
- 10 gallon tank
- Plastic container with lid
- Vermiculite
- Submersible fish tank heater
- Two bricks
- Glass jar
- Two thermometers
- Heat lamp
- Spray bottle
- Heavy blanket
Steps you will follow:
- Get a clean 10 gallon tank and place two bricks on the bottom of it. The space between the two bricks should be about the same as the plastic shoe box’s width.
- Punch small holes on the bottom of the plastic container.
- Fill the plastic container with vermiculite mixed with water deep enough to burry 3/4 of each egg. Make sure it is very moist. Leave some vermiculite under the eggs to prevent the eggs from touching the bottom of the container. (If you are using a plastic veggie drawer, line it with paper towels before putting the vermiculite in.)
- Place a thermometer on each side of the plastic container. This makes sure that all sections in the container are the correct temperature.
- Fill the glass jar up with water, making sure that the water is high enough that it covers the entire heater. Set the temperature on the heater to the 85 degrees. The size of the jar depends on the size of the heater.
- Place the container on top of the two bricks.
- Fill the tank with 1/4-1/2 in. of water.
- Put the heavy blanket on top of the tank leaving one corner uncovered. This creates darkness and keeps the temperature consistant.
- Place heat lamp on the outside of the tank facing one end.
- Spray fine mist every day.
Steps you will follow:
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