Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female laid 30 eggs Sunday night. I had the hovabator set to a semi-constant 84 degrees a week before, and put the eggs in an hour after she laid. Well, I came home from work yesterday, checked it, and the max temp on the digital thermometer registered at 101 degrees! The current temp was about 87 degrees, but I don't know how long it was at 101, so I think I might have fried them. What do you guys think? I opened the top immediately and let the hot air out. I'm so bummed. I reset it to about 82 degrees last night and before I left for work this morning I put a fan next to the incubator facing upward to circulate the air. Does anyone know how to get a hovabator to produce a constant temperature? Mine seems to fluctuate alot. Is there a better quality thermostat that you can buy to attach to the hovabator for better reliability? This is my first time (with eggs), and maybe my last time. I don't want my female going through the stress of laying, if I'm just gonna screw things up. Any advise would be very much appricicated.

Also, I noticed that some of the eggs had a yellow soft spot on them where the eggs stuck together. Is that normal? What do you suppose it is? I didn't pull them apart intentionally, they just kind of seperated when I dug them out, but I still have about 3 eggs that are stuck together and just kept them that way in the incubator.

Thank you for any opinions/suggestions/advise/lectures in advance.

Greg

They do fluctuate quite a bit on their own. You can put a helix thermostat on one or a GCS on up to 5 and they will control it a lot better. Other than that all you can do is try to put it in a temp stable part of the house and then it won't fluctuate as much.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

Thanks for your suggestion. I did a quick search and found different product available for both companys. Which models of Helix/GCS would you recommend and how much do they sell for? I only have 1 incubator. Also, what do you thing the chances of my eggs still being alive at an exposed temperature of 101F? Thank you in advance.

Greg

If you only have 1 unit (and plan on only having 1) then get a single contoller. I really can't say which one is better, if either. I'm a little biased towards GCS because the guy that owns it is an old friend of mine from way back, in fact we got into herps together. As far as your eggs, only time will tell. As long as it wasn't for too long you may be alright. Good luck.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

np

>>Thanks for your suggestion. I did a quick search and found different product available for both companys. Which models of Helix/GCS would you recommend and how much do they sell for? I only have 1 incubator. Also, what do you thing the chances of my eggs still being alive at an exposed temperature of 101F? Thank you in advance.
>>
>>Greg

A helix type thermostat is going to run you around $100 or more! With a hovabator, your best bet is to keep it in the cool room of the house where the average room temp stays about the same all day long. I used Hovabators up until this season and never had an issue with temp spikes that high. They only varied about a degree or two max.

These people sell the thermostat I currently use on my homemade freezer / incubator. http://www.dsreptiles.com

I hope your eggs are ok.
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Lisa
Cricket free babies!
LIVE hatchling web cam 8 - 8 EST.
www.beginnersbasics.com

np

My temps spiked to the mid 90's once (kids messin with control).
I'm not sure how long it was like that either, I discovered it in the morning so it was through the night.
Anyhoo, mine all hatched, 100%
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www.classylizard.com

Thanks Christyj

i prefer scrambled
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My Pets Include: 1 Holland Lop Eared Rabbit, 2 Leoperd Geckos, 1 Veiled Chameleon, 1 Red Eared Slider, 1 Whites Tree Frog(I've owned many others in the past)

Do you have any good recipies? LOL.

Greg