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Eggs Reached 95 Degrees!

chefdev Oct 16, 2011 09:00 AM

Ok so on Friday night I switched my timer to my sweater box incubator... The temp range in my closet is perfect for my thayeri clutch. The outside temps however were dropping to a low of 56 Degrees and the closet is near a window. I set the timer to give the box two 30 min boosts at 3am and 6am. This has worked perfectly a few nights before for a similar temperature drop.

For some reason I woke early in the morning and unplugged it, used the bathroom and went back to bed. When I woke an hour and a half later, now 6:30 I checked the temp and it was at 95 degrees! I quickly opened the box and fanned in some air.

A few points to consider here... One, I left the timer switched to the outlet position STUPID MISTAKE. Two I went to bed at midnight so they werent exposed to those temps for that long. Three the cluch is laying in a tower format. Each egg is a little higher than the rest, kinda shingled upwards. Four the heat source is a heat pad, there is only one clutch laid in vermiculite 1.5 inches deep which is resting in over one inch of water inside a sterilite sweater box with about 10 or so air holes. The digital probe is buried slightly in the vermiculite. So the air temp is slightly cooler.

I candled the eggs imediatly and again this morning. I can still see nice bold red veins and no egg discoloration.

Only time will truly tell if they hatch...

I can't imagine that eggs in Mexico are not subjected to the same temp spikes. After all it was over 100 for a month and a half here it Texas mid summer.

What do you guys think? Will they hatch?

Replies (2)

markg Oct 16, 2011 01:17 PM

I've had Cal king eggs be at around 90-plus for about 4 hours straight before cooling back to the low 80s. No harm - they hatched.

I think yours will probably be fine.
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Antaresia maculosa
Antaresia childreni
"Pythons the size of kingsnakes and with slower metabolisms"

Mark G

Bluerosy Oct 16, 2011 05:49 PM

Since it was a short period, they'll be fine.

I always said it is better to incubate Kingsnake eggs in lower temps. Sure it will take longer. But at least you are not playing with the other end of the spectrum- which is heat. Heat kills much easier than cold.
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www.Bluerosy.com

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