new eggs and unsure what to do

We just six great looking eggs from our mojave pair. We have a home made incubator with a pepsi cooler and fish tank with an aquarium heater. An experienced friend suggested the idea. We put the eggs in yesterday and they have dimpled a fair bit already. I haven't gotten the tools to measure temp and humidity yet but will go when the store opens and get them. Any other tips, where temp and humidity should be and if they look ok? will post a pic in a minute when I get it off my phone.

How do you have the egg box set up?

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...83022392_n.jpg

Is that cypress mulch? That's a new one on me. Are you keeping a lid on the tub when it is in the incubator? If not, then all of your humidity is escaping, which is why the eggs are dimpling already. I'll let others comment on tips regarding the cypress, because I haven't seen that before (could work, I just don't know).

I just went and got vermaculite. I dont have a lid on them, the whole thing is very wet, condensation on the doors, etc. Just got the monitors and the vermaculate, going to go set it up now and will report back. For a few days they were with mom, in a normal tub, with normal house humidity and cypress mulch substrate and were fine, and we moved them yesterday

You need a lid to keep temps and humidity as stable as possible.

Got them on the vermaculite now and the thermometer is doing its thing. Its digital.

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OK, will see what I can find!

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

OK, will see what I can find!

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If you don't have a lid, Saran wrap or Glad Press 'N Seal will do the trick, also. The Glad stays on better.

Thanks! I'm worried, we've never been able to keep eggs alive and it's so frustrating. I almost just left them with mom.

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

Thanks! I'm worried, we've never been able to keep eggs alive and it's so frustrating. I almost just left them with mom.

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Not trying to be rude but if you were more prepared and had everything set up the correct way you wouldn't have any issues "keeping them alive"

Also, did you put the eggs directly on the verm? I would get light diffuser or egg crate to get the eggs off the substrate. It will be much easier for you if you don't have to deal with making sure the verm isn't too wet or too dry. And put the lid on the tub of course.

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Originally Posted by TheOtherLeadingBrand

We just six great looking eggs from our mojave pair. We have a home made incubator with a pepsi cooler and fish tank with an aquarium heater. An experienced friend suggested the idea. We put the eggs in yesterday and they have dimpled a fair bit already. I haven't gotten the tools to measure temp and humidity yet but will go when the store opens and get them. Any other tips, where temp and humidity should be and if they look ok? will post a pic in a minute when I get it off my phone.

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Personally, I would have left the eggs with mom until I had a way to measure the temps in the incubator and was sure that they were stable. What are the temps now and what kind of thermometer are you using to measure? What are you using for a thermostat?

I'm curious, can anyone tell me why not just leave the eggs with mom for the whole time? I'm not planning on breeding but am very intrigued by the topic

We do allow our females to maternally incubate. Last year was the first time we tried it, and our females successfully incubated 28 clutches for us, so we will do the same thing again this year. If you are interested in reading about maternal incubation, Quiet Tempest did a pretty good write up. It is a sticky at the top of this forum.

But, a lot of breeders prefer to keep their eggs in incubators. IMO, either method is fine if done correctly. We used an incubator for a few years before making the switch.