What Temps do you Incubate?

[Zamric]

I have noticed quite a few people around this site that are breeders or "Accidental" breeders.

For those of you with eggs in an incubater, what temps do you keep your broods at and why? There is one guy on another site that claims to refridgerate his eggs for 30 days before incubation. Why would he do that?

What about Humidity? How much and why?

Sorry, don't mean to sound like an Essay Qustion, but curiosity has gotten to me and now I need to know.

 

[Tom]

Some species require a cooling period before incubation. Its called diapause, and the cooling period "breaks" the diapause.

Temps vary for different species too. I incubate leopards and sulcatas at 88. This should produce mostly females.

 

[bigred]

I incubate my redfoot eggs at about 84 degrees and 80% humidity or a little higher. I heard from the Nerd that lower temps have a better hatch rate when It comes to redfoots. Worked well for me last year, 19 eggs in the incubator this year SO FAR

 

[Zamric]

At what temps are male produced?

 

[Tom]

For sulcatas 84-85 will produce mostly males.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I incubate aldabras at 86f with above 90% humidity. Like the others have said, species vary.

 

[tortuga_please]

This may sound like a really stupid question (still learning), but do incubating temperatures determine gender for all species or only some?

 

[Tom]

As far as I know, its all species of tortoise. Crocodilians too. But the actual temps are different for different species. Sulcatas are the only species that I know of that have actually been studied and documented in a lab type setting. The numbers for sulcatas are not a guess or approximation. They are known.

 

[tortuga_please]

Any links to those studies? I'd be interested in replicating them with cherrys, if it was possible at least.

 

[tortoiseluvr]

I incubate my pancake eggs around 86-88F and 70% humidity.

 

[jackrat]

I incubate redfoots at 85 degrees and mid 80's humidity

 

[cdmay]

Any links to those studies? I'd be interested in replicating them with cherrys, if it was possible at least.

I have been incubating red-footed tortoise (including cherryheads) eggs between 82 to 85.5 degrees with an average temp of 84 degrees.
This has produced a nearly 50-50 sex ratio in animals I have held back or followed up on over the years. I know this is a bit cooler than what others incubate them at and according to what I have read should be producing mostly male hatchlings. Nevertheless, the four neonates I held back from 2010 are 2.2 and this is typical of what I get from my incubators. In addition, hatchlings with incubation related deformities such as split or extra scutes are rarely produced and occur at a rate of about 1 in 40, or less.

 

[Zamric]

Are lower temp suppost to produce more males and highter temps more females with mid range producing 50/50? DO the lower range temps take longer to hatch?

 

[Tom]

Are lower temp suppost to produce more males and highter temps more females with mid range producing 50/50? DO the lower range temps take longer to hatch?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Richard Fife funded the study on sulcatas and provided the eggs for it. Contact him through his website, http://ivorytortoise.com/ , and he can tell you where to find the study, and all the EXACT details.

 

[cdmay]

Are lower temp suppost to produce more males and highter temps more females with mid range producing 50/50? DO the lower range temps take longer to hatch?

The saying goes like this: Hot Girls, Cool Dudes, or something like that.
And yes, eggs kept at cooler temps do take a little longer to hatch.

 

[Zamric]

Excellent! I might get the hang of this Tortoise thing after all!

 

[Falcon70]

Isn't it amazing how just 2 degrees can change the ratio of how many males to females there are. That's why they are concerned with the temperature of the earth (if it's really changing). An increase of 2 degrees can drastically effect many reptilian species and their future populations...

Anyways, I'm one of those "accidental" breeders and I keep my incubator around 88-89 for a Russian egg (trying to get a female).