Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My incubator is all set up and over a 24 hour period my temps fluctate 1 degree. So my question is, assuming 89 degrees is the ideal incubator temp, is it better to have it fluctuate from 88-89 or from 89-90?

I think most people would say 89-90
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If you incubate balls at 86-87 they take a few days longer to hatch but absorb all their yolk and come out larger, more active and tend to eat much better in my experience. There is nothing wrong with 88-90 but 90.1 or so is your top end. Much hotter and you can kill them. At 88-90 the babies usually hatch with yolk still left in the egg and they look thin and are sometimes tough to get eating. Since I went down to 86-87 a couple years ago, I get fatter babies that eat better from the start for me. It doesn't seem like much of a difference but it seems to make a big difference. Some people keep them hot until closer to hatching and then lower a few degrees.

Makes sense to me - how often are you going to find a 90 degree burrow a couple feet underground?
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