Take on inbcubation

[CSMGecko]

I am having trouble with my eggs denting and growing mold after about 3-4 weeks in the incubator. I don't know what i am doing wrong. This is my first year breeding leos. Any advice. My incubation medium is perlite and using a hova bator. :main_huh:

 

[LZRDGRL]

I also use perlite and the Hovabator, and am quite satisfied.

ALL my eggs died in the Vermiculite, so I'm using perlite now exclusively.

I have had 30 hatchlings so far, and about 10-15 eggs that I had to throw away because they were dented (and in rare cases, mouldy).

I assumed that was a problem with the eggs themselves, since the others did fine. Maybe they weren't fertile, or the mother was mineral-deficient, or the embryos died of unknown causes???

Did you not have ANY hatchlings? Are your tupperware containers inside the Hovabator closed with a lid? That prevents the eggs from drying out. Maybe your perlite is too wet?

I have several different small tupperware containers in the Hovabator. This way, you can experiment with the humidity, if you think you have too much or too little.

I don't think it's the Hovabator method; I even had hatchlings after several days without power, and would still use this method - it's cheap, and doesn't take up too much space.

Are all your eggs from the same female? Can you rule out that she has some kind of mineral deficiency? If they are from different females, it is unlikely that they all suffer from a deficiency. In this case, it must be the humidity, I suppose.

Are all your eggs from females being gravid by the same male? Maybe there's something wrong with the male??? I have no other ideas. Rule out what you can. You'll eventually get there.

Good luck!!!

Chrissy

 

[CSMGecko]

Thank you. I think it may be that they are infertile but i can't really be sure. i have candeled them and it could really go either way because they don't look infertile due to veins and a faint rosy color but at the same time they are yellowish as well. I have been using 8 parts water with the perlite. Maybe my container is too big for too few of eggs and not enough moisture it getting soaked up. I have another gravid female that should be laying eggs today. So i will try and put those eggs in a smaller container. Thanks for your input. As for mineral deficiency, i doubt it since they are all healthy and i have a calcium dish in there that i have seen them use. It's gotta be the moisture level. I will experiment a little with that. Thanks.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

I have been using 8 parts water with the perlite.

I use vermiculite but in my mixture I use 2oz of vermiculite to 4oz of water. I believe in Alby's method they are using a .8 water ratio. if you are using 8 parts water instead of .8 I think we found your problem.

 

[CSMGecko]

No i am using .8. I am using Albeys method that he posted. I just consider .8 to be a parts because it's 8/10 parts of 1 whole. I am going to try .6 if on the next clutch to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Sidviciouser]

No i am using .8. I am using Albeys method that he posted. I just consider .8 to be a parts because it's 8/10 parts of 1 whole. I am going to try .6 if on the next clutch to see if it makes a difference.

It could be too dry believe it or not. The fact that they are denting is what makes me think this. The only eggs I lost were from an incubator too dry. They dented and then molded. I'm no pro at this, but I would rather have a bit too wet than too dry. I don't think a healthy wet egg will mold. If you setup a new mixture I would test one egg on it first. I would not do a .6 mixture myself.

My eggs in a vermiculite medium have water dripping off the lid. NONE of them molded. Not saying thats the best setup, but a dry egg will dent, die, mold.

I think your perlite is too dry.

 

[Gregg M]

I'm no pro at this, but I would rather have a bit too wet than too dry. I don't think a healthy wet egg will mold. If you setup a new mixture I would test one egg on it first. I would not do a .6 mixture myself.

You are 100% correct, a healthy egg will not grow mold... Here is the bad part about your theory... A healthy egg will in fact become unhealthy if the humidity is too high and if an egg is wet it will almost certainly die... Once the egg is unhealthy or dead, the mold will have a chance to grow...

With this being said, I do agree that a 1 to .6 ratio may be a bit too low...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I have been using vermiculite exclusively for over 13 years without issues. I use 1 part vermiculite to .8 parts water (2oz. vermiculite : 1.6oz water), and incubate the eggs in a sealed container. Keep in mind that if you are usingan Hovabator, the temperatures can fluctuate a LOT evey time to open it.

 

[CSMGecko]

Thanks everyone. I am giving my .8 another chance with some eggs. I got a different type of perlite...a finer ground maybe that will hold the moisture better than the coarser stuff. This set is doing fine so far but I am keeping a close eye on them. If I need to add more water than I will but hopefully it was just the type of Perlite i was using.

 

[Sidviciouser]

Here is the bad part about your theory... A healthy egg will in fact become unhealthy if the humidity is too high and if an egg is wet it will almost certainly die... Once the egg is unhealthy or dead, the mold will have a chance to grow...

DISCLAIMER: I wouldn't pour a full cup of water into a working incubator.

This is the part of my theory that I'm curious about. What humidity IS too high? Even with water dripping off the top of my incubator the humidity is still in the 80's. I WILL NOT let it get below 80. Every time I do eggs start to dent. Incidentally, it has to be below 80 to keep from dripping off the top.

If I see eggs start to dent I put a little water in (tablespoon maybe).

What if your using perlite and the water is at the bottom of the substrate? Will the egg/leo still drown? That's the worry right? Will the egg absorb enough water to drown the egg IF it's not in standing water?

Vermiculite holds water and I can see it getting too wet for the egg, but perlite keeps the water at the bottom and relies on the heat to keep the incubator humid thus surrounding the egg (kind of) in humidity, instead of sitting in water.

I'm glad were having this conversation. I think too many new leo breeders loose eggs to a dry incubator because so many people say their eggs molded from being too moist. Then their eggs do mold (after dying from drying) and they make their incubators even drier.