Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today I was discharged from hospital , after coming down with food poisening Sunday evening . My incubator has several clutches , but one has been a headache from the start . It seems to have an environment that dries faster then any of the other clutches (due to its only available spot in my incubator) , I think it gets the most airflow(drying medium ) .When I first noticed eggs dryer then any of the other clutches , I started to spray the walls of the egg box to "boost " humidity .It worked like a charm overnight , "plumping " up any slightly dried eggs . I come home from hospital today to find this clutch very dimpled and dry , I'd say if plump eggs are 100% , these were 45% dimpled . Should I kiss this clutch goodbye ???? All still have vessels and a few aren't as bad as others .I have re-moistened medium and already all eggs aren't dry anymore (leathery again) ....will they plump up ?? Sorry for long post ,but I never went through this problem before . Thanks for any advice , or similar situations .

Rich - OSC

What are you using that dries out that quickly? Also what type of incubator are you using?

If your not already..........try using Vermiculite and/or Perlite as they both retain water for a good ammount of time.....I prefer Vermiculite......its all I use......anyway....YOu want a good mixture of water to the medium.....its hard to say just how much you will need as I am not sure of what size container your using and and what your incubating them in........

Secondly.......about them drying faster than the other eggs........try putting them in a different locatin in the incubator.......if that spot dries particularly faster than the others........then maybe you may want to rotate the placement of each individual container each day or two........its a thought.......

Anyway.......get some info and lets try to help ya out....

Jared Horenstein
R.P.R.

Vermiculite 50/50 water by weight . I mixed each batch exactly the same . No other clutches have this issue . I don't mind attending this box daily (rather then 10 ) , it just happened while a close friend was watching the incubator for me (while in the hospital) , but obviously overlooked this clutch .6 x 2 , 3/4 inch plywood box , insulated (foam) with a grate , heated with plumbers tape , and fan to circulate .I've never had a problem with this incubator ( less clutches previously ), I KNOW why THIS egg box behaves different ( location ) , just not sure how far gone the eggs are from this experience( my absence) . Thanks for your reply...NOW EMAIL ME , lol .

RICH

Keep re-humidifying them. I've seen pics of eggs on here that I could've sworn were goners, and then pics of the hatchlings that came from those "dead" eggs.
Don't give up on the little guys. They're tougher than you think.

Keep trying. At worst, they don't hatch...but at least you know you tried.
At best, they all hatch, and the trying pays off.

Thanks for your reply , I will never give up on them . Hopefully all will hatch with success . Thank again ,

Rich-OSC

And adding water to the system is just a band-aid solution that can be very dangerous. The eggs or egg box shouldn't be getting ANY air flowing on to it! Especially outside cooler air that has a significantly lower RH. Yikes.