Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all, I am having troubles keeping the humidity up in our incubator. I am working on getting my stand up cooler switched over to an incubator, but I got eggs before the project was finished. Anyways, I have the eggs in a hovabator that I used for bearded dragon eggs. The eggs are beginning to dent. There is a dish of water in there to help, but anyone who has used a hovabator/little giant incubator, knows there are problems keeping the humidity in there longer than 3 days. My question is: Can I spray the eggs directly like I can with dragon eggs? I have added water to their perlite, but I don't know if water directly on the eggs will cause any problems. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jason

See Hovabator Setup:
Hovabator Setup

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Jay A. Martin

Thanks Jay. There is some nice info on your page. But my question is can I spray the eggs directly, or will that damage them. Thanks again.

Jason

I have a bit on there about spraying. I spray around the edge of the eggs - sometimes. It always gets the eggs though. I have not had any issues with this. But I only spray every now and again if needed. Most of the time, it's not needed. Are you trying the no substrate method with the Hovabator?
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Jay A. Martin

I am using perlite as substrate. I have had the eggs in there only since Friday and they are already beginning to dent. I have sprayed around the eggs, and there is humidity on the viewing glass. I even have a dish of water in there. I have already sprayed around the eggs once, but they are not swelling back up. With my dragon eggs, I spray everything, eggs and all. I had a 100% hatch ratio last year on eggs from dragons using this method. In hind sight, it looks like I should have had my stand up incubator ready a month earlier. By the time I have it finished, it will be too late for this clutch. I am going to go ahead and spray these eggs. What else can I do. I don't think I will be using a hovabator/Little Giant incubator for python eggs anymore. Sucks that I just bought 2 new ones. You live and learn.

Thanks for your help. If I can get the eggs to make it, I'll post what I did to get them to work.

Jason

Just perilite? This does not hold water at all. I use it only as a "spacer" with my vermiculite - which holds the water moisture. I have a 100% success rate with the Hovabator. Can you fit a small container inside and put the eggs in that? You'll need to keep the eggs out of pooling water though. You could even use sphagnum moss if you can't get vermiculite. Go to your local garden center. Also, do you have the fan model? I disconnect the fan.

Good luck!
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Jay A. Martin

I am having the same problem with my hova bator. My eggs are a week old and are getting some small dents on them. My humidity is right at 80 % and I cant seem to get it any higher. My temp ranges from 88 - 89. If you figure something out please post it.