Sulcata Egg Incubation Temps

[Tom]

My female should be laying eggs again soon and I've got an incubation question. Last year she laid for the first time. Three eggs, all infertile. She was only about 15.5 inches. Now she's about 17 and a quarter and ten years old.

When she started digging test holes last year, I was a little surprised, but I went and bought a hovabator. I set it at about 84 and it worked very well.

She has started digging test holes again this year and I think I'll be getting eggs again soon. I set up my reptile room a few months ago and the temps in there are amazingly consistent. I've got it all dialed in on a two thermostat/heater set-up. If one heater were to fail the other can maintain proper temps all by itself. Night temp is 80 whether its 22 or 65 outside. That room is very well insulated, so the temp stays very consistent all night long. In the morning all the heat lamps kick on and gradually warm it up to 86-88 by the afternoon. If its very cold out, it will only hit 86. If its warm out, it won't go above 88.

So here's my question: Can I successfully incubate my eggs on a shelf in this room and not fire up the old Hovabator? Is this too much variation? Are the highs too high? Is the low too low? I've heard that some variation is good and simulates nature. I'd love to hear from somebody who's done it both ways and KNOWS whether or not it will work.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, the ambient temperature DOES fluctuate, however, the temperature in the ground would not vary that much. It takes a long time of sun shining on one spot of the ground for it to change the temp at egg level, and the sun doesn't cooperate, it keeps moving past that spot. Also, it takes a long time for low temps to reach the eggs and by that time, the sun comes back .

Here's a clue about ground temperatures. The instructions on the package of grass seed tell me not to plant the seed until ground temperature reaches 50 degrees. So if surface ground temperature doesn't warm up to 50 degrees until spring time, I would imagine under the ground doesn't fluctuate very fast either.

 

[egyptiandan]

All very true Yvonne but people do use incubaters that fluctuate the temperature between day and night. Most people seem to use at least a 10 degree F swing in temperatures. People really do hatch out eggs this way. it does though take longer.

So yes, you can hatch out sulcata eggs in your reptile room. It will take a bit longer than hatching them at a constant temperature, but it will work.

Danny

 

[Tom]

Here's an idea. Sort of the best of both worlds. What if I set them up in the closed incubator and put the incubator in the reptile room. I save on electricity by not plugging in the incubator, but I get the insulation properties of the incubator to resist daily temp fluctuations. As an added benefit, humidity maintenance will be easier too.

I'm a little nervous about incubators now. I was supposed to get some CB/CH Blackthroat Monitors from a guy in Florida a few months ago. He told me his incubator got stuck on and he lost about 80 eggs of various species. I don't know any of the details, but it sure made me think.

Does anyone have a really reliable incubator that they'd recommend?

 

[Yvonne G]

I use the Little Giant bird egg brooder. It works just fine, but I have heard that it sometimes sticks and people have cooked their eggs. I've been using mine (I have about 4 of them) for several years and never had a problem.

 

[Laura]

Incubate for FEMALES so you dont put more big males no body can house, into the market..

 

[Tom]

Incubate for FEMALES so you dont put more big males no body can house, into the market..

I always get it backwards. Is it warmer for males and cooler for females?

 

[TylerStewart]

Incubate for FEMALES so you dont put more big males no body can house, into the market..

Keeping in mind, producing a fleet of females means there's a fleet of new sulcatas 10 years away when all those females start laying eggs.

Warmer will lean female, cooler will lean male. You're safer by staying cooler to produce more perfect babies. If you go too high, you get a higher margin of split scutes, deformities, etc. The neutral sex ground is somewhere around 87.

Also, with the incubator, you're safer to use one that has to be on at almost full power to maintain the proper temperature.... Meaning, if it only takes 30 watts to keep it where you want it on a normal day, don't use 100 watts worth of heating element. If your thermostat goes out and is stuck on full power, you're only throwing 30 watts at it and not 100. On my incubators, if you open the doors, it takes several hours for the temperatures to get back to normal. This is because the heat is almost always at full capacity anyways, so it's a slow process to regain that temperature. Many heat controllers have alarms if temps get too high also. I use and love the Herpstat Pro. It can control 4 separate incubators at 4 separate temperatures, with or without a night drop in each one, plus has an alarm that will sound at any temperature I program it to. Very slick machine.