Opening incubator door and taking out containers

The problem with setting at the upper range is temperature creep, if the thermostat clicks off at say 89* that does not give you much cushion if the temps climb.

Glad you have had no problems at the upper end but I tend to err on the side of safest way possible.

Originally Posted by DNA Dragons

Yeah Ed, mine took just a hair over 10 weeks at that temp. I have great success with the upper end, it apparently makes no difference. They just hatch faster. (8 weeks compared to 9-10)

Originally Posted by Ed Clark

The problem with setting at the upper range is temperature creep, if the thermostat clicks off at say 89* that does not give you much cushion if the temps climb.

Glad you have had no problems at the upper end but I tend to err on the side of safest way possible.

That is very true; my incubator is a mini fridge with a heating element (if it was 100 degrees in my apartment the incubator will turn on and lower the temp to my preference). The only thing it does not do well is provide even temperature gradient. At the bottom it is 83, at the top is warmer. I had a fan in there, but it took up space that I did needed, so now I just rotate eggs around every few days. PITB but make do with what I got. I will be in the market soon for a larger incubator and that is a good info Ed, I had not considered that, but now I know

Originally Posted by DNA Dragons

Yolk, there is yellow stuff coming from the egg? Is the egg fertile?

I only said yolk because the secretion is a little yellow in color. I assume they are fertile, I saw the pair going at it several times. I added some warm water into the bottom of the incubator to try to bump up the humidity to pop that one egg back out if possible. It may be too far gone but we will see. No bad odors from any of the eggs yet. I bumped the temps up to 84-85 but as a first timer and a new repti-pro 6000 it tends to fluctuate one or two degrees during the day most likely when it cycles on and off.

Yeah Ed, mine took just a hair over 10 weeks at that temp. I have great success with the upper end, it apparently makes no difference. They just hatch faster. (8 weeks compared to 9-10)

You haven't had any problems with babies hatching out smaller than average sized at 8 weeks? That's the only thing I've heard of causing problems with keeping them warmer- babies hatching out that shouldn't have hatched yet.

You do have to get used to your incubator as they all work differently. what I mean is to monitor it closely. set your thermostat probe in there and also use a good digital thermometer to see how accurate your thermostat is.a loss of a clutch of dragon eggs is a big loss.

Originally Posted by Cache Reptiles

You haven't had any problems with babies hatching out smaller than average sized at 8 weeks? That's the only thing I've heard of causing problems with keeping them warmer- babies hatching out that shouldn't have hatched yet.

No, in fact I experience the opposite, a majority of my offspring hatch very large (upwards of 5"). I think it is more about the health and genetics of the parents.. They hatch once fully developed and I have not seen a yoke sack on any of my babies before

There are a multitude of factors that effect the health of a hatchling. Temperature only slows down or speeds up the process of development (too low or too high will stop it!). I can not speak for temps above 89 degrees as this is the highest I have recorded in my incubator. Not saying it has not happened though.

Originally Posted by Ed Clark

a loss of a clutch of dragon eggs is a big loss.

I could not agree more, when a female lays even an infertile clutch I feel bad for the waist of energy and resources that she spent on the clutch. Even though she fullfilled her biological function, I failed to make it worth the while.

Same goes for watching incubation temps (which I do). Ed, I am PM'ing you.

CJ

So is there a way to tell at this point if a clutch is not fertile? I could see some red veins when I initially candled the eggs. Hopefully I am not nursing a non fertile clutch.

I think if you're seeing red veins it probably means the eggs are fertile. That was usually what I could see with fertile gecko eggs...

Originally Posted by juice it

So is there a way to tell at this point if a clutch is not fertile?

After maybe 7-10 days an infertile clutch will shrivel up and turn dark,sometimes they turn purple yellow and slimy.a first time female may lay an infertile first clutch...but she may lay 3-4 additional clutches after the first breeding that will be fertile.

Your job is to feed her well with lots of calcium.