Maternal Incubation Pics

[mooingtricycle]

very awesome!

What temps did you keep mom and the eggs at? or what did you read the most throughout incubation?

great pictures too, seriously

[Louis Kirkland]

very awesome!

What temps did you keep mom and the eggs at? or what did you read the most throughout incubation?

great pictures too, seriously

Thanks!!!

The temps were 88-90 degrees checked daily with a Raytec infrared temp gun.

[ADEE]

awesome post... congrats!! I would love to hear an update on your female and those babies!

[Louis Kirkland]

awesome post... congrats!! I would love to hear an update on your female and those babies!

All 3 females are doing well, as are the babies. The females are all POUNDING rats and should be ready for next season. They all have better feeding responses now than they ever had before. Of course, an extra 60 days added to their fast no doubt ramped up their appetite.

Thanks for asking about them!

[ADEE]

thanks for the update!!

[ladybird]

How did you maintain their tub while she was incubating? Did you do spot cleaning or just left them alone? What weight was the mother before/after breeding? More info please!

[Larry Suttles]

thats really cool louis..pretty cool experience

[Louis Kirkland]

How did you maintain their tub while she was incubating? Did you do spot cleaning or just left them alone? What weight was the mother before/after breeding? More info please!

Hi Ladybird.........with the females not eating for some time prior to laying or during incubation, there wasn't much of anything to clean other than a little uric acid. What little there was, I spot cleaned if I could get to it with losing my arm.

Other than a daily misting of the substrate, a temp check and keeping fresh water in their bowls, I pretty much left them alone.

I'm not going to be much help to you with the weight, as I rarely ever weigh my adults.

I will say that all three of the females lost a considerable amount of weight as you would expect given the length of their fast and the amount of energy they used developing, laying and incubating their eggs.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, they are all feeding STRONGLY now. They all have a much better feeding response than before. One of them would only take weanling rats...nothing larger. Now, she'll take anything I put in the tub including my hand if I'm not careful. In most cases the rat doesn't have time to get all four feet down before she grabs it.

thats really cool louis..pretty cool experience

Thanks Larry!

[elevatethis]

I misted the substrate daily and checked mom and the eggs (when I could see them) with a temp gun to make sure the temps were ok.

Out of curiousity, what were the clutch temps like throughout the process? I've read things about the mother being able to regulate the temperature of the eggs, I'm curious about what temp she was able to keep them at.

I don't have the juevos for maternal incubation, thats for sure....

[Louis Kirkland]

Out of curiousity, what were the clutch temps like throughout the process? I've read things about the mother being able to regulate the temperature of the eggs, I'm curious about what temp she was able to keep them at.

I don't have the juevos for maternal incubation, thats for sure....

Hi Brad....I monitored the temps daily and they stayed between 88-90 degrees.