Incubation Temps

What are your preferred incubation temps? If yours isnt listed Please choose other, and post it in the thread below.

No poll set up...never mind

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Originally Posted by llovelace

No poll set up...never mind

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lol.... takes a minute....

i keep thermostat at 90 and i get a 88.1-89.6. with a 80mm fan wired to a old phone charger to circulate the air and humidity

I set the Herpstat at 89.6˚

my herpstat set at 90 keeps egg box at 88 - 88.3

mike

Im doing the poll to see what the general consensus says about what most people incubate their eggs at.

I want to see if people have experimented with lower temperatures too, and what their results were. As ive heard that a slightly lower temp than 88 proves to give you more robust babies. But ive yet to have it proven to me. ( Ill find out one of these days)

I heard a rumor, and ive yet to ask the person..."Personally", what their results were from incubating at those lower temperatures, so i tossed a poll up here, just to see what sort of responses i'd get.

I set my herpstat to 89F. I do not measure my egg tubs. I also do not use a fan in my incubator.

I go 88.5 to leave some room for warm up. Incubators heat up but dont cool down. I goofed and put 85.5 in the poll instead of 88.5, Duh:oops:

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

I go 88.5 to leave some room for warm up. Incubators heat up but dont cool down. I goofed and put 85.5 in the poll instead of 88.5, Duh:oops:

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oops! LOL

Herpstat set to 88.5

Helix set at 89. Probe in the tub.

Like Raul, Mike and I went for the 88 degree range so that if there was an slight spike upwards it wouldn't put the eggs at over 90 degrees. Seemed to work, we had a 100% hatch rate last year (granted it was only 3 clutches but for a first year with eggs, we were pleased). :)

Thanks everyone for the votes and the info on what you all choose to do!

Im leaving my bator at 88.5 this year.

i have my incubater set to 90, and one of the egg boxes is reading 88.5 and one reads 86.5 any one have any idea wats up there.

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Originally Posted by dmaricle

i have my incubater set to 90, and one of the egg boxes is reading 88.5 and one reads 86.5 any one have any idea wats up there.

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Where have you placed the probe?

I placed my probe IN the eggbox, buried in the perlite ( ill be using perlite again this year) During my testing for this years setup.

my prob hangs in the middle between the two egg boxes. the box that is perfect 88.5 is like 17 qt and the 86.6 tub is 7 qt both set up the same way and sitting next to each other.

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Originally Posted by dmaricle

my prob hangs in the middle between the two egg boxes. the box that is perfect 88.5 is like 17 qt and the 86.6 tub is 7 qt both set up the same way and sitting next to each other.

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is one more over the heat than the other? Also, is one more shallow than the other? ( and therefore less substrate is inside?)

One year under my belt and I had my bator set at 89

91F with probe outside the egg box. Perfect.
-Steven

Can someone temp gun some of the items in their incubator? And let me know how surface temps match up with air temps?

I have my air temp at 89 (Helix says 89, backup Johnson actually says 90), but surface temps are 87-88.....any thoughts?

JonV

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Originally Posted by nevohraalnavnoj

Can someone temp gun some of the items in their incubator? And let me know how surface temps match up with air temps?

I have my air temp at 89 (Helix says 89, backup Johnson actually says 90), but surface temps are 87-88.....any thoughts?

JonV

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102 flexwatt temps
91 waterbottle temps
89 air
85.5 inside the egg tub.

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

is one more over the heat than the other? Also, is one more shallow than the other? ( and therefore less substrate is inside?)

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i put the colder one closer to the heat tape, and yes the colder one is much smaller and way less substrate. i think im just gonna use the large ones no matter how big the clutch is.

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Originally Posted by dmaricle

i put the colder one closer to the heat tape, and yes the colder one is much smaller and way less substrate. i think im just gonna use the large ones no matter how big the clutch is.

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thats why. Smaller container, less substrate, means its going to be warmer overall.

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Originally Posted by stevenkeogh

91F with probe outside the egg box. Perfect.
-Steven

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I bet they cook pretty quick at this temp. How many days on average does it take for your clutches to hatch?

I set my incubator to 89F with the probe outside of the box, and they normally hatch between 55 and 57 days.

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

thats why. Smaller container, less substrate, means its going to be warmer overall.

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the smaller one is the cold one.

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

I bet they cook pretty quick at this temp. How many days on average does it take for your clutches to hatch?

I set my incubator to 89F with the probe outside of the box, and they normally hatch between 55 and 57 days.

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Yeah I set mine at 89F with the probe in the tub. They are all out by day 57.

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Originally Posted by Dave763

Yeah I set mine at 89F with the probe in the tub. They are all out by day 57.

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dave i know this is way off topic but what kind of dog is in your avatar. lol

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

102 flexwatt temps
91 waterbottle temps
89 air
85.5 inside the egg tub.

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Thanks!

JonV

is the air being circulated, do you have anything for heat sink

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Originally Posted by nevohraalnavnoj

Can someone temp gun some of the items in their incubator? And let me know how surface temps match up with air temps?

I have my air temp at 89 (Helix says 89, backup Johnson actually says 90), but surface temps are 87-88.....any thoughts?

JonV

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I have pretty good air circulation....heat sink? As in something sucking all the heat?

JonV

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Originally Posted by dmaricle

the smaller one is the cold one.

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Thanks.... i dont know why i was thinking opposite. I even went back and looked at the post again/numbers.....

I use a Helix set at 89. I use sealed egg boxes with press and seal. Two fans. Only using one fan right now seams to be working just fine. Probe hangs down into the middle of the incubator. I converted an old upright freezer. Ive had 100% hatch rate. But also haven't produced a high number of babies either. Only about 50 or so.

i set mine to 89 and place the probe inside the egg box. so far ive only lost 1 egg and all seem to hatch around day 55.

I know I have seen people try with other animals on the higher or lower temps for getting more boys or girls but has this been proven with balls??? I thought I read something by Dave Barker but I cant find it. Just curious I think a good mix is better and I havnt had enough clutches to start any wacky experiments yet.....

I incubate at 86-87 and hatched this year at day 53 on the first clutch... Other clutches have the same temps and are about 2 weeks from hatch.

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Originally Posted by firehop

I know I have seen people try with other animals on the higher or lower temps for getting more boys or girls but has this been proven with balls??? I thought I read something by Dave Barker but I cant find it. Just curious I think a good mix is better and I havnt had enough clutches to start any wacky experiments yet.....

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So far, no snake species has been shown to have their juvenile sex ratio affected by incubation temperature. Additionally, every species that has been investigated has been shown to have sex chromosomes.

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Originally Posted by BChambers

So far, no snake species has been shown to have their juvenile sex ratio affected by incubation temperature. Additionally, every species that has been investigated has been shown to have sex chromosomes.

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Thanks. Of course it would make it too easy to selectivly breed all females or all males if we knew. I guess its probably better that we dont.

even though no eggs yet! my jcps and my varanids keep humping so my bator stays at 89F with a 10" fan running. also use tubs of water on 2 shelves with a bubbler keeps my humidity around 86% no substrate needed.

I say 1 gajillion degrees is the appropriate temp. lol. I have always heard 88-89 is best. Dont know what the upper and lower limits on what an egg can handle are though.

This season I am going a little lower. I want to test the theory of lower temps, more robust babies. Heat tape is at 88, egg box temps is around 87.2-87.5. In the past I have incubated at 88.9 with no problems.

89 - 90. No probs.

Chris

89 degrees in the boxes .......works like a charm. I use to breed Parrots so this seems easy SO FAR :)

I helix at 90.0 and my incubator stays inside right at 90 .. no temp variant unless i open the door to put in more eggs ..

I used to hyper-focus on making sure every shelf in the Natures Spirit was as close to 89.5 as I could... Last year I said screw it, I will just set the HELIX at 90 and go from there... The containers were actually a few degrees colder and I had twin babies die in the egg (Pastel Crystal and probably 5 gram Pastel Mojave) along with a couple kinked babies early in the year... I then paid more attention to the temperatures having to set the HELIX up a couple degrees... I dont believe I had any more problems.
I have always heard about how tough Ball Python eggs are... I have known of someone throwing a clutch in his backpack, hopping on his motorcycle, and then riding ten or fifteen minutes to an incubator. I have heard that they have dropped probes in the egg pits in Africa and have found temps up to 100 degrees without problems.... I even heard (through the grapevine) of a breeder claiming that hes noticed if you incubate at 89 = 60 days, incubate at 90 = 55 days, and incubate at 91 = 50 days...
I dont stress out as much if I see the incubator go up a few degrees... I have a closet incubator now and I set the HELIX at 93 degrees. I have 5 probes inside the incubator and I generally have temps right about at 90 to 90.5.... My clutches have been hatching at day 52 with higher numbers of females.:P

I would rather a little warmer than colder... Just my opinion...

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Originally Posted by Python Dreams

I used to hyper-focus on making sure every shelf in the Natures Spirit was as close to 89.5 as I could... Last year I said screw it, I will just set the HELIX at 90 and go from there... The containers were actually a few degrees colder and I had twin babies die in the egg (Pastel Crystal and probably 5 gram Pastel Mojave) along with a couple kinked babies early in the year... I then paid more attention to the temperatures having to set the HELIX up a couple degrees... I dont believe I had any more problems.
I have always heard about how tough Ball Python eggs are... I have known of someone throwing a clutch in his backpack, hopping on his motorcycle, and then riding ten or fifteen minutes to an incubator. I have heard that they have dropped probes in the egg pits in Africa and have found temps up to 100 degrees without problems.... I even heard (through the grapevine) of a breeder claiming that hes noticed if you incubate at 89 = 60 days, incubate at 90 = 55 days, and incubate at 91 = 50 days...
I dont stress out as much if I see the incubator go up a few degrees... I have a closet incubator now and I set the HELIX at 93 degrees. I have 5 probes inside the incubator and I generally have temps right about at 90 to 90.5.... My clutches have been hatching at day 52 with higher numbers of females.:P

I would rather a little warmer than colder... Just my opinion...

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Good stuff, Tom! The important question is, what temp do you recommend I keep the Schlager at!? :)

I have Herpstat set at 86 with prob hanging in the middle of incubator. My boxes are closed and any temp spikes because of ambient room heat (90-91) don't effect them much. Eggs have been hatching 58-62 days. :)

I set my Helix at 89. degrees, and my temps stayed between 89.2 and 90.4 degrees.
Out of 14 eggs so far this season, I have had a 100% hatch rate.

One hatchling was trucked up, and had to hit the freezer.
Even though 13 of 14 hatchlings are pefectly healthy, I plan on adding a small fan to my incubator for this coming season.

I still have 2 eggs cooking from a 1. Bee and a 1. Pastel x .1 Pastel.
They are going to be cut on Sept. 11th. :salute:

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Originally Posted by jglass38

This season I am going a little lower. I want to test the theory of lower temps, more robust babies. Heat tape is at 88, egg box temps is around 87.2-87.5. In the past I have incubated at 88.9 with no problems.

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I tend to agree. I dont know if i posted in this thread or not, but im incubating at 87.9 this year ( probe in the eggbox )

( Hah, i forgot i made this... LOL)

T-stat set to 90.

differs from 89.1 to 90.1 no biggie.