StatikStepz
www.ThePerfectGecko.com
- Messages
- 1,427
- Location
- Lake Worth, FL
After hearing everything about the SIM Containers (all good, of course), we decided to try them out, so we picked up a few. Prior to this year, I have always incubated in Deli Cups or Sandwich containers and did not always have the best of hatch rates. So when i got my 1st clutch of eggs for this season, I put them in a SIM using "Albey's Method" of .08 water to Perlite weight and decided to try it out. I was very pleased with the results, as this 1st clutch of eggs hatched much earlier than expected at exactly 40 days (incubated at 90 degrees). Since this 1st hatchling out of a SIM, I am now a believer!
Here at TPG, I use 3 Incubators... one set at 90 degrees for male, one set at 82 for female, and one set at 85 for a mix of both. This year, I decided to take all my 1st clutches of eggs, and put them all in the male incubator. Then, I put all the 2nd clutches of eggs that i got from my females, and put them in the female incubator (so I knew I would atleast get a male and female from each pairing)... and then the 3rd clutches, I put into the incubator set at 85 degrees. Then any eggs after the 3rd clutch, i would just put in random incubators.
Here are my findings:
The SIM container is a great product for use for the smaller to "mid-size" breeder. I would not consider myself a large-scale breeder, as I try to limit myself to approximately 150-200 hatchlings. Not only does it deliver hatchlings earlier than expected, as promised, but it is a relatively easy concept with great ease of use. I have also found that it holds 28 Leopard Gecko eggs comfortably... 7 rows, 4 eggs each row. You could do 5 eggs each row and it will hold 35 eggs, but as the eggs grow and start to expand, you will find that they will all be right up on each other, and not give much room for a new hatchling to emerge, wihout turning the egg next to it, and if you are at work, may sit like that all day.
**However, I have come to realize one minor and overlooked detail of the SIM, that can drastically change your outcomes of eggs inside of it....
Depending on how much you open the lid of the SIM, to either add new eggs that were just laid, or to remove a gecko(s) that just hatched, or to remove an infertile egg that has now gone completely bad, this will GREATLY ALTER the humidity levels inside the SIM and dry out your eggs! Do not overlook this detail as it will either make or break your season. I started to notice that alot of my eggs were starting to dent while inside the SIM and some of the newer ones started to sink in and even shrivel up, beyond the point of a "quick fix", and caused me to lose alot of eggs. Because of this, I started to look a little deeper to try and figure out why, as this did not happen in the beginning. With Albey's Method of .08 water to Perlite weight, this should create a condensation on the inside walls of the sim going about halfway up the sides. Then I realized that this condensation was starting to deminish, and it all made sense when I thought about how this could be happening. If you are someone like me, and get a few eggs every 2 or 3 days to add to the incubator, this also means that you have a few babies hatching every couple of days. By opening up the SIM to constantly add new eggs, and remove new hatchlings, soon enough, your water content in the perlite will no longer be .08!
Luckily, I have found a solution for this problem.
I found my old notes where I was figuring out how much water to add to the perlite and all that, that also showed the weight of the container , and the full weight of it, with the perlite and water added to it. So i pulled out the plastic "shelf" from the SIM that the eggs are suspended on, and weighed what the container now was... to my surprise, not only has the water content in the perlite dropped, but it was at a .05 ratio now after all that opening and closing. So here's what I did... I took another SIM, filled it with the correct measurements of water to perlite, and then weighed it (lid off, and no shelf inside... just the outer container with the perlite and water inside). I then put the lid and all back on the SIM, and sat it in the incubator for about a day and a 1/2 to let the inside of this new SIM get up to temperature. Then when the inside temp was the same as the other SIM (the one with the now weak humidity level, and pull of eggs starting to dent due to lack of humidity), I just VERY CAREFULLY slid out the suspended shelf with all the eggs on it, and transferred it to the new "fresh" SIM. Within about a week or so, all the eggs, that were slightly dented started to perk right back up and fill in again, and were all fine. Obviously past a certain point, and the egg cannot recover, but if you catch it early, you might just be able to fix it. Just don't forget to weigh the SIM before you put the new eggs in it, and record this measurement so that if you start to notice the humidity level weaken, you may measure it, and see if it still matches.
I hope this helps anyone out there using a SIM, and that with this little quick fix, may be able to save some eggs if you are one that needs to keep opening it to add new eggs or remove babies! For this reason, I now keep a spare SIM ready to be switched out with another if I notice that the condensation levels start to get lower and lower from my constant needing to open the container. For those of you that may say that the "flux in temps when switching the eggs to a new container will cause deformaties and tail kinks" and all that... Out of 40+ eggs that have now hatched from SIM's that I have switched out to new one's, not a single one had a kinked tail, bent leg, or anything. This is why you put it in the incubator for a day to 2 days ahead of time to let it get up to the same temps! I still fully endorse the SIM, as it is a great product, and does what it promises! Just keep in mind that it will not keep the same humidity level if you are one that constantly needs to open the lid! There is no bad-talking the SIM here, just making others aware of a minor detail that I'm sure goes overlooked! :main_thumbsup:
Hoping this helps your season,
~Chris
Here at TPG, I use 3 Incubators... one set at 90 degrees for male, one set at 82 for female, and one set at 85 for a mix of both. This year, I decided to take all my 1st clutches of eggs, and put them all in the male incubator. Then, I put all the 2nd clutches of eggs that i got from my females, and put them in the female incubator (so I knew I would atleast get a male and female from each pairing)... and then the 3rd clutches, I put into the incubator set at 85 degrees. Then any eggs after the 3rd clutch, i would just put in random incubators.
Here are my findings:
The SIM container is a great product for use for the smaller to "mid-size" breeder. I would not consider myself a large-scale breeder, as I try to limit myself to approximately 150-200 hatchlings. Not only does it deliver hatchlings earlier than expected, as promised, but it is a relatively easy concept with great ease of use. I have also found that it holds 28 Leopard Gecko eggs comfortably... 7 rows, 4 eggs each row. You could do 5 eggs each row and it will hold 35 eggs, but as the eggs grow and start to expand, you will find that they will all be right up on each other, and not give much room for a new hatchling to emerge, wihout turning the egg next to it, and if you are at work, may sit like that all day.
**However, I have come to realize one minor and overlooked detail of the SIM, that can drastically change your outcomes of eggs inside of it....
Depending on how much you open the lid of the SIM, to either add new eggs that were just laid, or to remove a gecko(s) that just hatched, or to remove an infertile egg that has now gone completely bad, this will GREATLY ALTER the humidity levels inside the SIM and dry out your eggs! Do not overlook this detail as it will either make or break your season. I started to notice that alot of my eggs were starting to dent while inside the SIM and some of the newer ones started to sink in and even shrivel up, beyond the point of a "quick fix", and caused me to lose alot of eggs. Because of this, I started to look a little deeper to try and figure out why, as this did not happen in the beginning. With Albey's Method of .08 water to Perlite weight, this should create a condensation on the inside walls of the sim going about halfway up the sides. Then I realized that this condensation was starting to deminish, and it all made sense when I thought about how this could be happening. If you are someone like me, and get a few eggs every 2 or 3 days to add to the incubator, this also means that you have a few babies hatching every couple of days. By opening up the SIM to constantly add new eggs, and remove new hatchlings, soon enough, your water content in the perlite will no longer be .08!
Luckily, I have found a solution for this problem.
I found my old notes where I was figuring out how much water to add to the perlite and all that, that also showed the weight of the container , and the full weight of it, with the perlite and water added to it. So i pulled out the plastic "shelf" from the SIM that the eggs are suspended on, and weighed what the container now was... to my surprise, not only has the water content in the perlite dropped, but it was at a .05 ratio now after all that opening and closing. So here's what I did... I took another SIM, filled it with the correct measurements of water to perlite, and then weighed it (lid off, and no shelf inside... just the outer container with the perlite and water inside). I then put the lid and all back on the SIM, and sat it in the incubator for about a day and a 1/2 to let the inside of this new SIM get up to temperature. Then when the inside temp was the same as the other SIM (the one with the now weak humidity level, and pull of eggs starting to dent due to lack of humidity), I just VERY CAREFULLY slid out the suspended shelf with all the eggs on it, and transferred it to the new "fresh" SIM. Within about a week or so, all the eggs, that were slightly dented started to perk right back up and fill in again, and were all fine. Obviously past a certain point, and the egg cannot recover, but if you catch it early, you might just be able to fix it. Just don't forget to weigh the SIM before you put the new eggs in it, and record this measurement so that if you start to notice the humidity level weaken, you may measure it, and see if it still matches.
I hope this helps anyone out there using a SIM, and that with this little quick fix, may be able to save some eggs if you are one that needs to keep opening it to add new eggs or remove babies! For this reason, I now keep a spare SIM ready to be switched out with another if I notice that the condensation levels start to get lower and lower from my constant needing to open the container. For those of you that may say that the "flux in temps when switching the eggs to a new container will cause deformaties and tail kinks" and all that... Out of 40+ eggs that have now hatched from SIM's that I have switched out to new one's, not a single one had a kinked tail, bent leg, or anything. This is why you put it in the incubator for a day to 2 days ahead of time to let it get up to the same temps! I still fully endorse the SIM, as it is a great product, and does what it promises! Just keep in mind that it will not keep the same humidity level if you are one that constantly needs to open the lid! There is no bad-talking the SIM here, just making others aware of a minor detail that I'm sure goes overlooked! :main_thumbsup:
Hoping this helps your season,
~Chris
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