If you asked me a few months back I would have told you I'd be lucky to have one of my females lay. Well one did and the 2nd is definitely going to be laying in about a week. This would not be a 'dilemma' however after testing tubs and a few options with fans and bottles, I had to put my first clutch in the incubator without everything perfect.
The incubator only holds 2 tubs. The top tub with the eggs in it now is holding the eggs steady between 88 and 89 degrees. The bottom tub is holding steady at around 85 or 86 degrees.
Based on dates, if everything goes 'on schedule' the new clutch will be laid when the first clutch is at day 28. The first clutch will hatch on day 55 at day 28 for the 2nd clutch.
Do I leave clutch 1 at 88-89 degrees through the 55 days and incubate clutch 2 at 85-86 for the first 28 days then 88-89 for the 2nd 28 days?
Do I move clutch 1 at day 28 from 88-89 to 85-86 for the last 28 days and leave clutch 2 at 88-89 throughout?
My crackpot rationale tells me to move clutch 1 down to 85-86 and hope that the final stages of development produce a small amount of metabolism heat / are developed enough to not be harmed at all by a slightly lower temp.
Clutch 2 is going to be producing 'higher value' animals and based on her size it will be a bigger clutch - another reason I'm thinking of moving the other down.
Next year I'm shelling out cash for a PRO incubator... or spending more time and energy tweaking.
TL;DR / this is too wordy - I'm wondering if it's better to incubate at slightly lower temps during the first half or 2nd half of incubation
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