How to Make a Homemade Corn Snake Egg Incubator

Native to the southeast United States, corn snakes were the first popularly mass produced pet snakes. In fact, much of our understanding of snake genetics relating to their color and pattern was determined by breeding corn snakes. The result of all this initial work on corn snakes is that there are now a bewildering variety of colors and patterns available to pet hobbyists, and corn snakes can generally be obtained for a modest price.

Things You'll Need

  • Perlite
  • 200 gram capacity scale
  • Water
  • Sealable air tight rubber/plastic food container
  • Measuring cup
  • Water soluble fine felt tip marker
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Remove your pet corn snake from her container as soon as she has laid her eggs. This will prevent her from inflicting any damage on the eggs. Once laid, the eggs are abandoned and are not cared for by either parent snake. It is important that you do not disturb the eggs until you have set up the incubator.

    • 2

      Weigh the plastic food container to determine its empty weight. Place an inch and a half of perlite into the bottom of the container, and weigh it again to determine the weight of the perlite and the container. Subtract the container weight from the total weight to determine the weight of the perlite. Write this number down for use later.

    • 3

      Determine the weight of water to add to the container by multiplying the weight of perlite by 0.8. Be sure to use only the weight of the water, by first determining the weight of the empty cup and subtracting it from the weight of the filled cup. Add the water to the container with the perlite and smooth out any irregularities on the surface of the perlite.

    • 4

      Use the felt-tip marker to place a small "X" on the top side of each egg before moving them. At this point, if any eggs looked shriveled, are broken or moldy, they should be removed or isolated from the container immediately. If any of the eggs have adhered to each other, do not try to separate them, as the shells may rupture.

    • 5

      Press your thumb into the perlite, making an indentation deep enough to bury one egg halfway. Place an egg into the indentation with the "X" up, and fill in around the egg to keep it from rolling around. Continue to add the eggs in this fashion until the container is full or all the eggs have been placed. To conserved space, place the eggs as close as possible but not touching.

    • 6

      Place the container in area of your home where it won't be disturbed or subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations. The eggs should develop normally within a temperature range of 65 to 88 degree Fahrenheit. The warmer the eggs are kept, the faster they will develop; however, temperatures above 88 may induce deformities in the developing embryos. Once a week you will need to remove the lid to allow fresh air to enter the incubator. At this time you should remove or isolate any shriveled or moldy eggs.