Egg Dessication

[bigballs]

how hard is it to kill an egg?

im guessing most breeders anticipate the approximate date of laying and adjust the conditions to be "egg friendly" during that time?

but lets say, for example, i had a female bp lay eggs on the cool side of her enclosure measuring an ambient temp of 80-82 degrees with humidity of 50-60 percent. if i did not find them within 24 hours of her laying would they be able to surivive that time span(or longer) within the conditions mentioned above until found and then artificially incubated?

[LadyOhh]

If the female is maternally incubating the eggs, you are safe.

She knows what she is doing most of the time.

[BChambers]

Heather's right-this has happened to me several times, and no harm done. Eggs are a lot tougher than you may think.

[bigballs]

if you are planning maternal incubation then you would still need to control the temps and humidity so that the eggs can successfully hatch. you would need the same conditions as you would create in an incubator to have the female successfully brood the eggs.

i read that a clutch of ball python eggs was successfully incubated at 80.5 degrees. the incubation period took longer than if the temp was higher but the eggs hatched.

if this is the case then i would assume that freshly laid eggs within the environment i explained in the first post left undiscovered for 24 hours would be fine until being placed into an incubator.

thanks for the responses guys!

i just read the "eggs" section the Barker's book and this is the conclusion i came up with. the only way i can truly find out is getting some eggs of my own so keep your fingers crossed for me.

[LadyOhh]

I have hatched out BPs by maternal incubation in my standard rack with regular temps of 90 on the hot side, 73 on the cool side. She was in the middle, and had no problem thermoregulating herself.

There is no need to adjust temperatures to "incubator" temps.

All eggs hatched out fine and healthy. Mom knows best...

[starmom]

Oh jeez` my tired eyes thought this said egg dissection and so I was ready for an education!!
Then I read it again: dessication. Oh. Nevermind...

[bigballs]

I have hatched out BPs by maternal incubation in my standard rack with regular temps of 90 on the hot side, 73 on the cool side. She was in the middle, and had no problem thermoregulating herself.

There is no need to adjust temperatures to "incubator" temps.

All eggs hatched out fine and healthy. Mom knows best...

what did you do for humidity??

[bigballs]

well to bring this thread back up i have another question for all the experienced egg handlers out there.

my incubators are in a room thats 75 degrees. if i were to have eggs in the incubator at 88 degrees and then decide to check them out and open the egg box and maybe take them out and inspect or weight them, would the 13 degree drop and lack of humidity in the room affect them while they are out of the incubator for 5-10 mins?

[tigerlily]

There's no need to take the eggs out and mess with them. I don't know what harm would actually occur, but why take an unnessary risk?

I freaked out enough when I let my eggs breathe (as I used Glad Press n Seal to keep humidity in) out once a week or so. I'm just happy my incubator has a clear front. I could sit and happily stare at the eggs without disturbing them.

EDIT - Just thought I'd add that I did have them out a couple times for about 5 minutes so I could candle them, and didn't have any issues.

[bigballs]

i have been reading the barker's book and they said to check on eggs every couple days and to inspect the bottom of the eggs for mould if the egg box doesnt smell fresh. they have room incubators so removing the eggs from the egg boxes will not result in too big a change in temp for the eggs. so i guess its not a big risk for them.

but in my situation, whether you are taking them out to inspect them or just checking up on them could the drop in temperature or the draft of room temperature air damage the eggs in anyway?