Incubating first clutch...Question

My first clutch was laid 7 days ago and has been incubating since then. I am using the substrateless method in a 6qt Sterilite container. I was looking at the eggs a few days ago and noticed they were starting to dimple a bit. I'm pretty sure this early in incubation they should not be dimpling.

My incubator setup is a wine cooler (about 3'x2'x2') with 18" of 11" Flexwatt running up the back and a 3" Radioshack computer fan mounted on the ceiling for circulation. My Herpstat is set to 88.5 degrees F and holding very steady.

Do you guys have any suggestions as to what is going on and how I can fix it?

Thanks!

Hi,

As long as the grate prevents it touching the eggs I wouldn't be afraid of adding a little more moisture to the substrate.

Pictures might help be a little more specific.


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

As long as the grate prevents it touching the eggs I wouldn't be afraid of adding a little more moisture to the substrate.

Pictures might help be a little more specific.


dr del

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He is using a substrateless method.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

As long as the grate prevents it touching the eggs I wouldn't be afraid of adding a little more moisture to the substrate.

Pictures might help be a little more specific.


dr del

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I have about 1.5" of vermiculite that is slightly packed down w/ 1/2" plastic spacers to hold the grate off of the vermiculite. I spoke with a breeder that's a friend of mine and he suggested using Press N Seal. He said that the Sterilite 6qt tubs don't seal very well and too much moisture may be escaping. I have since re-sealed the tub with Press N Seal and we'll see what happens. If this doesn't seem to work, I will try adding more water.

How long should it take for the dimples to pop back out once things are corrected? I will still try to get pics later today.

Thanks for the help.

I had the same issue with my first clutch. Cling Wrap did the trick - my humidity immediately went from 70% to 98% in the egg tub. I'm using Press-N-Seal on my other eggs, and it seems to be working just as well. My first eggs never fully recovered from their dimpling (day 24 now), but they do look better. I'd suggest just making sure you have a digital hygrometer in the egg tub so you know exactly what that humidity is doing.

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Originally Posted by DemmBalls

I have about 1.5" of vermiculite that is slightly packed down w/ 1/2" plastic spacers to hold the grate off of the vermiculite. I spoke with a breeder that's a friend of mine and he suggested using Press N Seal. He said that the Sterilite 6qt tubs don't seal very well and too much moisture may be escaping. I have since re-sealed the tub with Press N Seal and we'll see what happens. If this doesn't seem to work, I will try adding more water.

How long should it take for the dimples to pop back out once things are corrected? I will still try to get pics later today.

Thanks for the help.

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well if your using vermiculite then your not using substrateless method , the no substrate method uses water only nothing else . eggs dimple sometimes i know mine does and i only use water method with 100% humidity . it just depends on the egg the dimple was prolly formed from the air pocket that's in the egg . but you might want to add more water to keep it from getting worse ..

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Originally Posted by TheVipersHouse

well if your using vermiculite then your not using substrateless method , the no substrate method uses water only nothing else . eggs dimple sometimes i know mine does and i only use water method with 100% humidity . it just depends on the egg the dimple was prolly formed from the air pocket that's in the egg . but you might want to add more water to keep it from getting worse ..

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Ok. I have always heard anything that involves the eggs sitting on egg crate as being called "substrateless incubation". I will continue to watch the eggs. As long as they don't get any worse, I think I will just leave them alone. I am trying to avoid tampering with the eggs much more than I already have. To be honest...I am a bit concerend with all of the handing at this point anyway (Maybe I'm just paranoid though).

Anyway...I really appreciate any input!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheVipersHouse

well if your using vermiculite then your not using substrateless method , the no substrate method uses water only nothing else .

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Substrateless means the eggs don't sit in the substrate, some people do water only, some do vermiculite and others use perlite :confused:

Hi,

I suppose it depends on how much movement you expect the eggs to have to put up with.

The substrate people use in the substrateless method is mainly to reduce the movement of the water and prevent it sloshing onto the eggs if you are a bit incautious while moving it etc.

As long as you are carefull then gentle handling fo the eggs shouldn't really be a massive deal.

I candled mine every week just to see the veins develop. :rolleyes:


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

I suppose it depends on how much movement you expect the eggs to have to put up with.

The substrate people use in the substrateless method is mainly to reduce the movement of the water and prevent it sloshing onto the eggs if you are a bit incautious while moving it etc.

As long as you are carefull then gentle handling fo the eggs shouldn't really be a massive deal.

I candled mine every week just to see the veins develop. :rolleyes:


dr del

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So you don't think I'm killing the eggs by making the occassional tub adjustment? I'm sure I am somewhat over reacting, but I would hate to kill these eggs not to mention set myself back a years worth of work. I really want to get it right!

Thanks for the advice!