Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all haven't posted here in a while, but please, speedy replies appreciated. I checked on my fat tails today (a pair that's been together since last year with no signs of mating, although they get along fine) and there are two eggs - they were very well buried, but the verm. was only slightly damp...not ideal, I know (again, I had no idea they would lay eggs for me!) The eggs are not totally puckered, and I've sealed off the lay box from the parents and re-moistened the verm. I brushed some verm., off the tops of the eggs (there are two) to get some more air circulation - I'm keeping the laybox in with the parents till tomorrow when we get the incubator out of storage and running. What next? Any suggestions on getting these in good condition before i pop them in the incubator (I'm thinking at 85 degrees, yes?) Thanks all! I know AFT's are tricky, but I'd like to give these eggs a fighting chance! -Shannon
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The Classroom Zoo is...
1:4 leopard geckos, R.I.P. Rosie
1:1 African Fat Tail Geckos
1:0 Jackson's Chameleon - lost an eye, but is doing fine.
1:1 Bearded Dragons
0:4 Chickens, a variety of breeds
1:1 Rabbits, a mut and a Van Breveren
1:0 Golden Retrievers
as well as....
Roaches, Mealies, Supers, and crix (starting up).

First off, I know leopard geckos a whole lot better than AFTs but you didn't have any replies yet so ...

You probably know this already, but you're better off taking your time being sure the incubator temps are stable before you put the eggs in. You have the eggs in a safe place now, and hopefully can check the temp where they are sitting at the moment.

I did a quick check in the Leopard Gecko Manual (Revised!) and they note that AFT eggs must be incubated at slightly higher temps than Leos. 82.4 to 97 (!) is the viable range for AFTs though 97 sure does sound hot to me. They recommend 85 degrees as ideal.

Good luck to you!
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Andrea A.