There are many ways to incubate but basically you have to give the eggs the conditions the mother would have in the wild. I believe there are 4 areas of concern and i will try to keep this clear as some times I ramble when I type.

1. Constant Temps

2. Proper humidity

3. Fertile Eggs

4. Oxygen



So what should you expect?

The Female will ovulate ..Noticeable by a mid body swell that last from 4 -24 hours. Hopefully the ova will be fertilized and shelled and eventually the female will usually but not always go through a POS Post Ovulation Shed. Usually she will lay 30 days after this shed but I have had females go 59 days . So she ovulates ,sheds , lays eggs .



So one day you will find one of two clutches. A completely adhered clutch , There stuck together as a big cluster or there not. Removal of the mother should be done as careful as possible in an attempt to not damage the eggs. I usually lay a towel on the mother and slowly unwind her ........Sometimes they can be very protective and agresive. Its not uncomon to be struck at!

After the mother is removed the eggs are marked with an X with a pencil to verify the correct position in the incubation medium.

A cluster that is adhered is left in a cluster and no attept is made to seperate them. This is something to consider when setting up your tubs! A cluster needs to sit below the top so the lid can be put on . A typical size clutch is usually between 5-8 eggs but larger clutches of over 12 happen. I use 6 qt sterlite tubs as egg containers . I use vermiculite as a substrate and is mixed at 50% water 50% vermiculite by weight.

I set the container on a digital scale and zero the scale . I add vermiculite until in is 2/3 full and write down the weight. I add the same amount of water and mix with my clean washed hands in a gripping motion. So if the vermiculite weighs 300 grams I add water until the scale reads 600 grams. A correctly mixed medium will form a firm ball when squeezed but not drip water.I usually use water at 85-90 degrees for mixing, I just shoot it with a temp gun. Before the eggs are put in tubs they need to be candled for fertile eggs. I use a small pin style flashlight for this. You hold the egg and put the light right against the egg one at a time in a dark room. A fertile egg will have a pink glow with obvious red veins. A infertile egg will have a yellow glow with no veins. Eggs that are adhered as a cluster are set up in a cluster and no attempt is made to remove bad or infertile eggs.



Seting up the eggs in the tubs!

A cluster is setup in the medium and the bottom eggs are covered about 1/2 way. Due to the pile and height make sure you will have room to get the lid on, If you need to remove some medium. Individual eggs are given a small indentation in the medium and covered 1/3 to 1/2 and spaced about 2 -3 inches apart.Making sure the eggs are positioned with the X up is critical. I tape my lids on with packing tape and put two small holes in the lids for air exchangs (Very Small)



The eggs are put in the incubator and kept at 89 degrees and should hatch in 60 days. The eggs should start to dimple or deflate around 10-14 days before hatching , this is normal. It is not normal if they start to deflate early and is a very good indication that they are too dry. If this occurs water should be added to increase humidity , I try to keep humidity at 80% -100%

and you should be careful not to get water directly on the eggs. Its not uncommon for eggs to go bad and discolor and rot. In adhered clutches I leave the bad eggs, they will discolor and rot but will not effecct the others. At 40 days I start to open the tubs weekly briefly for a air exchange. I put the temp probe of the thermostat in one of the tubs within 1 inch of a center egg. I hope I kept that clear and there are lots of ways to setup eggs but this is what has worked for me. Im sure others will chime in! Theres lots of info online ! Stick around this si a great site for info at all levels. read all post related to breeding and incubation! Good luck to you this season ! Bryan

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