The Suspended Incubation Method (SIM incubation)

[Canny Chams]

Hey guys, i have been using a relatively new incubation technique called SIM (suspended incubation method) for my crested gecko eggs, and i have had very good results, healthier babies, better head structures and lower mortality rate. I was wondering if you guys think it would be better for chameleon breeding than the conventional methods (hatchrite, vermiculite, etc). Im going to leave some links and photos below...

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/s-m-incubation-method-119657/

 

[Canny Chams]

bumping up

 

[coldbloodedAL]

This has came up a few times, though I have only heard of one person using it. They had Veiled eggs in it, and they all hatched. The biggest downfall (if you really want to call it that) was space, they can take up a lot of room in an incubator. So if your not breeding chams on a large scale it may be a good alternative.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

I am glad you posted this. It's a popular method to incubate day geckos by and I've been tossing it back and forth in my brain whether or not I should do it for chams.

Day geckos and some other geckos lay their eggs above ground and the humidity in the air is enough. This method should work with any reptile egg since there is no argument for the eggs needing to be buried.....we all incubate ours on the top of the incubation media.

I have run into problems with too much, or too little, moisture in the incubation media with my cham eggs in the past. 7 months is a long time to have things correct the whole duration.

I would try this product for sure, but I'd be concerned about too much condensation on the eggs.

 

[Canny Chams]

well i know there is no problems with the condensation with crested gecko eggs, and they are sensitive to too much or too little moisture. They are also burried belowthe ground unlike some day geckos, would someone please try this with a batch of eggs? im really curious, and if it shows the same results as with geckos, i will definately use it. As for incubator space, The extra large one can carry like 200 eggs, and you can fit 2 of them in a m-400 incubator

 

[coldbloodedAL]

I was mainly comparing it to current methods. They take up basically twice as much room.

 

[Canny Chams]

true, but quite frankly, if the results are better its worth it

 

[Canny Chams]

the gas exchange is also very good

 

[coldbloodedAL]

true, but quite frankly, if the results are better its worth it

I agree, I would prefer quality over quantity.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Maybe try it with just a few eggs.? I think someone else was going to do that with another method.

 

[Canny Chams]

well hopefully ive got some mitsio eggs on the way, im gonna split the clutch of eggs 1 will be in superhatch, and the other half will go in a SIM container, hopefully it works

 

[Canny Chams]

ive got some mitsio eggs on the way, il split the clutch in half, half in superhatch the other half in the SIM box

 

[mychamtini112012]

Tell us how it goes then. Is this product available in the US.?

 

[Canny Chams]

i would think it is, i get it from NorthernGecko.net its a canadian company but they ship to the US. Its kinda refreshing hearing ppl ask if something is in the US rather than if something is in canada

 

[Hoj]

i would think it is, i get it from NorthernGecko.net its a canadian company but they ship to the US. Its kinda refreshing hearing ppl ask if something is in the US rather than if something is in canada

LoL so true, im guessing you get them from Mark?? on another note what type of incubator are you using im looking for one now.
i need one that heats and cools, ( but mostly cools ) and i dont think im going to waste my time/money on the exoterra, so im open to any suggestions.
id liek to keep it below $600 if possible

 

[Canny Chams]

yea i got them from mark, man i get all my gecko stuff from mark, freaking shipping from the US is a pain, like double the cost with shipping. I have 2 incubators, and exo terra that i use for crested geckos and uroplatus, because of the reason its bad, the temps are always alittle lower than what you set at night and alittle too high during the day, the temperature change seems to give a better result on the hatching. for chameleons, cahouas, and sanasorium I use a GQF sportsman Model. i got it used from a reptile shop i used to work at called earth echoes for 300 bucks, i think its 600 dollars retail, its very accurate and you can even set a day night gradient, i set it so it lowers the temp by a degree at night, and turns light off at night, it makes it so my babies on hatch from like 10 til 2pm, then they stop and start the next day, its pretty weird but good

 

[Canny Chams]

here i found a link, mine looks slightly different but its afew years old, Paul (the store owner) said when he got it, it had shelves build for chicket eggs so he modified the incubator so that it could hold the reptile egg containers better
http://www.surehatch.com/gqf-sportsman-incubator-model-1502.html

 

[coldbloodedAL]

LoL so true, im guessing you get them from Mark?? on another note what type of incubator are you using im looking for one now.
i need one that heats and cools, ( but mostly cools ) and i dont think im going to waste my time/money on the exoterra, so im open to any suggestions.
id liek to keep it below $600 if possible

Have you looked at these yet? http://www.aveyincubator.com/reptile_pages.htm

These are supposed to be top notch at that price, and i've never heard a bad thing about them. They are commonly used for GTP eggs.

 

[chameleoman]

ill try it with my eggs that im expecting to be laid soon just tell me how to set it up and put it and the incubator and ill do it all i need it instructions

 

[Canny Chams]

k so you need to order 1 SIM box, you can get them off pangeareptile get 1 box, plus 4 extra rails, if you dont get the extra rails it wont fit for cham eggs. it comes pretty much esembled its very simple, you wont even need instructions, its just a platform, you stick the container in, and attach the rails

http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/reptile-egg-incubation.html

il give you rep points for testing it