Incubator temperature VS Egg surface temperature

Hello everyone!

I've got a quick question about temperature in the incubator.
The general rule is to keep the incubator running at ~88-92F, but how does that translate to the temperature of the egg?`

Assuming the measuring probe is attached outside the eggbox there may be some loss of heat from where to probe is to were the eggs are.
So my question is, what temperature should I expect my eggs to be at while incubating at.... lets say 90F?


BR
Sam

Hi there! I've never bred BPs, but I've successfully bred my leopard geckos, and I guess this sort of thing would carry over. Don't quote me on that, though :)

You really don't want the probe to be outside of the egg box since you are measuring the temp where the eggs are gonna be.

Here's what I did:

I had enough space in the incubator that I was able to create what I call a "dummy" box. In it I recreate the exact same environment the eggs will be in, but there are no eggs in it. I drill a hole in the top of the egg box container just big enough to stick the thermometer probe in, and that way it gets the air temp inside the box.

So in short, measure the air temp in the environment the eggs are gonna be in. You can't accurately get the temps of egg surface during incubation anyway since youd need to open the egg box and doing so would let out the heat you are trying to measure.

Like I said, I only bred leos so this may or may not work, but I don't see any difference here that would keep it from working.

When left alone long enough, the air temps in the box will maintain the same temp as the air outside unless you're using a heavily insulated eggbox. Though iirc the eggs will start to warm up more before they hatch.

Some breeders will use a dummy box, a box where the probe can sit and you get the general temps for the incubator. This really only works for incubators where the air is circulated because the temps will vary from top to bottom

Because I was only working on a single clutch, I was able to put my t-stat probe directly into my eggbox and cover it back up.

I'm looking at building a better incubator for next year to when I'll be hatching up to 6 clutches. One with a circulation fan and at least 3 individual digital thermometers to measure temps on different levels.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armiyana

When left alone long enough, the air temps in the box will maintain the same temp as the air outside unless you're using a heavily insulated eggbox. Though iirc the eggs will start to warm up more before they hatch.

Some breeders will use a dummy box, a box where the probe can sit and you get the general temps for the incubator. This really only works for incubators where the air is circulated because the temps will vary from top to bottom

Because I was only working on a single clutch, I was able to put my t-stat probe directly into my eggbox and cover it back up.

I'm looking at building a better incubator for next year to when I'll be hatching up to 6 clutches. One with a circulation fan and at least 3 individual digital thermometers to measure temps on different levels.

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The only thing is that in an incubator the temps are constantly changing, more on the outside than the inside. Here is a good article on heat transfer inside the incubator.

https://geckotime.com/editors-questi...ature-control/

I'm not sure what you mean by "top from bottom"... do you mean in a multi level incubator or the top and bottom of the eggs? In my incubator there's only one level anyway so the temps between the top a bottom of the eggs don't vary that much, especially since it's being heated from below and heat rises.

I mean the temperature inside the incubator, not the eggs.

Warm air rises. So the top of your incubator will have a different temp than the bottom if it is large enough. Much like how a rack system has variable temps between the levels as well.

If you only keep an eye on the temps in the middle, your eggs near the top can be at a higher temp because the air at the top gets warmer before the probe in the middle hits the desired temps. The boxes on the lower shelves would also be slower to incubate as they will be at a lower temp than the ones in the middle.

If your incubator has a fan to circulate the air, it will keep the temps from naturally settling and you'll have a more even temp through the entire setup.

This depends on the type of incubator you use. I'm using a homemade cooler version so with only one eggbox, I have no problems maintaining my desired temps in there. When you have an incubator with varying shelves, that can be much harder to maintain.

One thing I DID forget to op's original question....
Incubating at 90 is a little risky. If it's your first time I would look to cook the eggs at around 87-88 so that you have a couple degrees in case of error.
If the temps go above 92 for any reason it can result in egg death or deformed hatchlings.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armiyana

I mean the temperature inside the incubator, not the eggs.

Warm air rises. So the top of your incubator will have a different temp than the bottom if it is large enough. Much like how a rack system has variable temps between the levels as well.

If you only keep an eye on the temps in the middle, your eggs near the top can be at a higher temp because the air at the top gets warmer before the probe in the middle hits the desired temps. The boxes on the lower shelves would also be slower to incubate as they will be at a lower temp than the ones in the middle.

If your incubator has a fan to circulate the air, it will keep the temps from naturally settling and you'll have a more even temp through the entire setup.

This depends on the type of incubator you use. I'm using a homemade cooler version so with only one eggbox, I have no problems maintaining my desired temps in there. When you have an incubator with varying shelves, that can be much harder to maintain.

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That's what I thought you meant but I wasn't sure. My incubator had only one level, so I didn't need to monitor the temps on different levels, and it was small enough so the heat rising didn't effect the temps too much. In fact, I think it helped a lot since the heat first heated the medium/bottom of the eggs, and then heated the air above the eggs so the eggs got evenly heated, more or less.