• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Eggs HELP!

S

starjem66

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2005
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Florida
Had my female lay eggs. Have the hovabator etc. followed what everyone says but apparently I had too much humidity as the eggs started to gather mold on them. Even tried taking care as best I could but lost them. So thinking I learned from my mistake my other female layed eggs also. Same thing happened but not until the very end of the incubation time. Any ideas? I am using plastic cups with air holes, clear lids but I am using vermaculite? Should another substrate be used. What to figure it out before the next breeding season. Very sad that two clutches were lost.
 
Janey,

Was it their first time breeding? Sometimes the females who are bred for the first time their first clutches aren't fertile. I prefer perilite which I use Albey's method. I've had 100% success rate with the fertile eggs.
 
starjem66 said:
Had my female lay eggs. Have the hovabator etc. followed what everyone says but apparently I had too much humidity as the eggs started to gather mold on them. Even tried taking care as best I could but lost them. So thinking I learned from my mistake my other female layed eggs also. Same thing happened but not until the very end of the incubation time. Any ideas? I am using plastic cups with air holes, clear lids but I am using vermaculite? Should another substrate be used. What to figure it out before the next breeding season. Very sad that two clutches were lost.
Click to expand...
If I were you I would get rid of the havabator and go get an apartment-sized refrigerator from the scrap yard. Then you get the cheapest thermostat from a hardware store and a piece of heat tape that will fit on the bottom. This is one of the best incubators you can have.
 
It is possible that the eggs were not fertile, but in the future you might want to try using peat moss as an incubation medium...That is what I use, although most breeders that I know of use a mixture of perlite/vermiculite.
The only problem I have had with Peat moss, is that I have lost one egg due to the peat moss getting too dry, but with proper observation that should not be much of a problem as peat moss holds moisture in well. Good luck with the rest of the clutches
 
I am currently using vermiculite and have had no problems with it at all. All of the eggs I have had have turned out healthy. The only thing I could think of is that the eggs were not fertile, just as Josh stated. I hope you have better luck with future eggs!

Ali
 
I use albeys method but with perlite, I haev also used perlite/vermiculite mixture with great results but when I used vermiculite only I had problems with mold as well.

I also agree that the eggs may have been infertile, its quite normal for 1st time breeders.

Did you candle the eggs to see if they were fertile?
 
I'm thinking everyone is right about the eggs not being fertile. I have watched them things like they were my kids! Well I'll keep a sharp eye out for next breeding season! Cross your fingers for me.
 
Back
Top