Reptile Basics SIM incubation box

I'm real curious as to how well these would work. The concept is to suspend the eggs instead of burrying them in medium. They say it will speed up hatch times by having more stable humidity and possibly better oxygen consumption. I may buy one to test it out, I was wondering if anyone has bought one and tried it out already. Heres the web site:

http://www.reptilebasics.com/sim-incubation-box.html

Keep in mind Reptile Basics is only a distributor of this product, as is several other companies. Your title seems to imply it is their product, which may be misleading to some. The container has been around for a while now and more info can be found just by using Google. I am sure Greg will come on and provide more info but the container seems to have been designed around the "no substrate" method of incubation which has been used very successfully by breeders. I acquired a couple over the summer at a discounted rate and will be trying them with chondro eggs in about a month (hopefully). They definitely work because this concept of incubation has been around for quite some time.

As Bart stated, the concept of substrate-less incubation has been around for a long time, someone just finally made a product for the masses so you don't have to make your own containers. They're slick looking, but for the price of one of those I can get egg crate to make at least 10 larger shoebox size substrate-less incubation containers myself. For the small hobbyist I think they'd be great, but for me, it would be completely unrealistic...I'd have to purchase 30 of them just to get through the Ball Python clutches (that's not counting Cornsnake, Hognose and Leopard clutches!).

Yeah they are a little steep, how do you guys feel about substrate-less incubation. I was under the impression everyone just uses pearlite and vermiculite. If this is a better way of incubation why don't more people do it? Could there be problems with the eggs drying out? Sorry for all the questions but I'm pretty new to breeding and I should have around 10 clutches this year so I'm trying to get some good advice from different people.

I've switched all the species I worked with to it last year (previously I only did it for Ball Pythons). As far as humidity, you still have to put water in to keep it up. You can also still use your substrate beneath the grids if you're worried (I use a thin layer of SuperHatch underneath because it holds water so well).

I wouldn't go as far as saying it's a better way of incubation, just a different way. I've used substrate-less, vermiculite, superhatch, organic soil and orchid moss successfully. My top two are substrate-less and orchid moss. Orchid moss is pretty expensive considering the amount I would need. Substrate-less, once the boxes are made (or purchased) can be reused year after year.

What works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Household temperatures, humidity and elevation will effect your incubation needs.

Thanks for the advice, ball pythons have to have near 100% humidity correct?

This year I used the SIM for my crested gecko eggs, and only one hatched.

One day it would be too dry and I'd find shriveled eggs, and if I added more water, they would mold.

When I first saw the SIM, I thought-"WOW!! No more hatchlings coated in vermiculite!!"

Next season, it's back to boxes with coated hatchlings.

Yeah I think I'm just going to stick with the method thats worked for decades lol

Originally Posted by SamanthaJane13

This year I used the SIM for my crested gecko eggs, and only one hatched.

One day it would be too dry and I'd find shriveled eggs, and if I added more water, they would mold.

When I first saw the SIM, I thought-"WOW!! No more hatchlings coated in vermiculite!!"

Next season, it's back to boxes with coated hatchlings.

Wow, that is the first I have ever heard of an issue with rhacs... Should have contacted us... You could have got one of the containers with a faulty lid... We did put the info up on our site to let people know if the lid was too ridged or didnt fit well, we would send a replacement... Thats the only reason I can see it getting too dry in the container... Unless you are using a hoverbator???

Also the faulty lid was only an issue with aprox 2 cases and that was 2 shipments ago, there has been no issue since...

For results from SIM users you can check

www.geckoforums.net
www.varanus.nl
www.superconda.com
www.jmgreptiles.com

They have shortend incubation times in most species and in some quite considerably...
A very well known zoo here in the North East got a 100% hatch rate on their Chuckwallas (9out of 9) which is unheard of with this species... The best chuck breeders get maybe a 25% to 30% hatch rate...

It may be more expensive than glad containers, but to me, its money well spent if you are looking to hatch strong, robust neonates...

With many side by side tests, animals hatched in the SIM have been better developed and hatched earlier...