Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Those of you who use this quite a bit, how often do you have eggs that begin to dimple very early on (first couple weeks of incubation)? Just wondering because this is my first time using it, and my eggs dimpled in much earlier than they did last year when I used vermiculite.

Thanks,
Ben

It sounds like not enough humidity to me. I never used the no-substrate method, so I'm not positive. When I use to breed leopard geckos, I used a cooler with water in the bottom, and an under water aquarium heater as the heat source, which is similar to the no-substrate method type of incubator, but I always used vermiculite in the cooler/incubator, I never did it with no-substrate. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Jay Cassidy
cavemanreptiles.com

Those of you who use this quite a bit, how often do you have eggs that begin to dimple very early on (first couple weeks of incubation)?

Never.

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Jeff, what is that under the screen? Looks like a rug. Thanks... John
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0.1 Albino
1.0 Pastel
1.0 (F1)Banded Ball
1.1 100% Het Piebald
1.1 100% Het Butterscotch Ghost
1.1 100% Het Yellow Ghost
2.18 Normal Balls

Jeff, what is that under the screen? Looks like a rug. Thanks... John

2 screens and perlite.

I tried it for the first time this year. I had plenty of water and both windows of my incubator filled with condensation. Yesterday, I removed the eggs and put them in vermiculite as they began dimpling pretty good. My humidity was 90% so I'm not sure why they dimpled.

I may make some adjustments and try again next year.
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Jay A. Martin

Sounds like you are having the same experiences as me. What type of incubator are you using? Mine is a hovabator with a modified deeper bottom. What one person I emailed was suggesting was that if the temps in the incubator are uneven (significantly warmer temps higher in the incubator) then no substrate may not work so well. Let me know what you think is up. I don't understand why it is working so well for other people, but not us.

Ben

I use the normal (shallow) Hovabator without the turbo fan. My temps are 89 degrees right at the egg level. I did not use a hygrometer but based on all the condensation on both glass panes, I feel like I had enough humidity. I poured at least 5 cups of water into the bottom of the incubator. I have not done a lot of research but I think I had high humidity close to the top but not close enough to the eggs. I also think the heat needs to come from below the water to create a sort of sauna effect. I may do more research, but for this year, my females are done. Now, I'm just waiting for June 25
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Jay A. Martin

Well, I hope everything hatches out well for you! Let me know if you figure anything else out. Hopefully we'll both have it figured out before next season begins.

Ben