Incubating leo eggs without substrate?

I've been thinking about it for several months and I wanted to know if anyone here is incubating their leo eggs without using an substrate? Like the eggs suspended above water or perhabs the eggs suspended above a very well mositened substrate. I've been thinking about the benefits of such a thing and one of them that crosses my mind is the eggs would be able to absorb more oxygen and that might mean a bigger stronger hatchling. What are everyones thoughts on this?

I don't see how one would be able to maintain proper humidity or keep the egg from rolling but let us know how it goes please.

Justyn

I like how you think - outside the box....errr...incubator ;-)

If you could design a egg holder that would keep the eggs in place your idea sounds feasible. If you use water you'd have to have some sort of screen underneath whatever was suspending the egg so the youngster would not drown. The moistened substrate might work better. I think the way to find out is to give the method a try. Although, the consequence is that you might lose some eggs.

Regards,

Terry

Hey,,
Not sure about the Leo eggs,, as i have always incubated my Leo eggs in pearlite,,,,
But Use to keep lots of Leaftails,, Henkeli,, lined, etc,,,
And i use to use a tall deli cup,,, 2 inches of water in the bottom,, and about half way up a hardware cloth( or 1/8 inch screen) "basket" to hole the eggs with no incubation material what so ever,,, The Deli cup had 2 small holes just above the water line, but below the eggs,,, and another couple of small holes above the eggs near the top of the deli cup,,,, It worked like a million bucks for hatching the leaftails,,, my hatch percentage was very very close to 100%,,,,,

It is sure worth trying,,,,

On the othersite, a girl posted her incubater which was a watercooler with a fishtank heater, and her eggs in a deli cup attached to the walls. Maybe this is going off a tangent, but you could try that, and put the eggs in an empty deli cup and have them float around. Oh, but when they hatch, the can drawl out or tip it. Not so good of an idea. The screen floor one sounded good. I'd give that one a try, just figure out how to keep the eggs from rolling. Sounds like a cool expiriment.

Good luck!

Michael

Originally posted by Intense Herpetoculture
I've been thinking about it for several months and I wanted to know if anyone here is incubating their leo eggs without using an substrate? Like the eggs suspended above water or perhabs the eggs suspended above a very well mositened substrate. I've been thinking about the benefits of such a thing and one of them that crosses my mind is the eggs would be able to absorb more oxygen and that might mean a bigger stronger hatchling. What are everyones thoughts on this?

if you want more oxygen to the underside of the egg use perlit instead of vermiculite.

I have done leo eggs just like Joe does his leaftail eggs with a 100% hatch rate,It works great it is just more work than just putting them in a cup with substrate.I did not notice the babys any bigger than normal.

Jodi or Joe

Do either of you have pictures of this setup?

Thanks!

Terry

Hey,,
It has been a while since i was messing with the leaftails,,, i don't have any pictures,, but i will see if i can scare one up from the past,,,,

I was in a hurry, but I wanted to post this before I left. This was scanned out of the June 99 issue of Reptiles magazine. Works AWESOME for leaftails. As far as leos are concerned, I dont see one reason why it wouldnt work. It is a pain in the A$$ though. So be prepared.

If the pic doesnt show up right, I will post it again tonight.