Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Eve and fellow collared friends!

My female aquaflame is gravid and should be laying soon. Last season I lost two clutches of eggs from my WC pair that has been dewormed, acclimated, super fat and sassy. The first time, I didn't get the male out of the cage in time and he decided to use the eggs for a bed and crushed them all. The second time, the eggs made it to the incubator and all sunk in within a few days and the last holdout went bad a month later, starting with mold.

I am using an old circulated-air hovabator that I used for gecko eggs for years without issue. I don't mind buying a new incubator but after much research, I am not impressed with the mini fridges that can reset to 32 and kill your eggs and the alternative models are basically what I already have unless you have a suggestion.

I am using superhatch for a medium from repashy.

I puchased the SIMS incubator thingy after seeing your site but it won't fit in my hovabator so I took the tray out and placed it on top of a flower pot water dish filled with superhatch that is saturated, no water comes out if the dish is turned on angle but color is dark. Humidity with probe on center of plastic SIMS tray (not touching superhatch) is 95%. I have the hovabator set at 83 degrees.

Can you make any recommendations to this? If you don't mind me asking, what incubator do you use with so much success with eastern collareds? If hovabator, do you have suggestions on using the red plugs for ventilation on the unit? Anyway, when my gal lays her eggs, I wanna be ready and with your success! Many thanks in advance! Oh, the male is already separated and I have two large cave hidouts with damp soil inside them for egg-laying sites. She plays, sleeps, and digs in them.

Thanks again!
Tony

Well I have used the same 2- 3 Hovabator incubators for many many years. I do not use the ones with a fan for circulation, just the regular hovabator. I use vermiculite as my egg substrate. I have never used anything else. I have heard of the hatch rite for a few years and alot of people like it.

I do not think I have red plugs, ;0) I don't even really fill the bottom of the bator where it has a valley or water well. I just use my small plastic containers and the SIMS is in there too, mostly filled right now with snow leopard gecko eggs. I have about 5 plastic containers in there with collared eggs, along with the SIMS and now I am out of room, I need to use another incubator. But I stuff them pretty full.

Thats about it. I keep temps about 84.7 - ish so it is good for collareds or the leopards or spinys or whatever.

Not sure about your set up with the SIMS tray, hard to know without seeing. Sorry !

I personally don't rig up too many things when it comes to my eggs, I try and keep it pretty to the book /old school , moist vermic in container and hovabator incubator.... and let em cook.
Although I did try and like the SIMS last year, as long as yoru eggs are good they seem to hatch in there.
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Eve
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