dumb incubator! i cant get it right! help!!!

first i had problems with humidity,now this! the temp on my incubator keeps changing. i try to keep it at 82.3 degrees, yesterday it was 81 degrees,so i turned the nob just a tiny bit,and checked on it 5 minutes later and it was 88 degrees! i used to just leave it alone cause it would come back to the right temp on its own, but now it either gos too low or too high. i keep the humidity cups at the bottom full+ i have a deli cup of warm water in there,which seems to help,but its still not quite right.

also any ideas of how to keep the humidity up in incubator would be helpful. my eggs are on moss, with a moist piece of paper towel on top,and a cover on the containers to help keep in moisture,but some of the egg are still "denting" as if they arent getting enough moisture. what to do?

ps,they were laid on 5/15/03,so i know there not denting because their about to hatch.

I cover my eggs with damp moss. I think it keeps the humidity in better than covering them with a paper towel.

As for the heat...do you have the incubator on a thermostat?

mouldy eggs

My corn laid 14 eggs on 12 May. Most of them where dented before I could get them in an incubater and all of them were stuck together. I put the clump in a plastic container half buried in vermiculite and then covered it with a damp paper towel,put the lid on, and then put that in the home maid incubater. I have the humidity high and the temp right but when I looked today,the dented eggs are going mouldy.I am now worried about the remaining couple of eggs that look o.k.? will they too go mouldy or should I try to get the bad ones out? The problem is they are all stuck together and I don't want to damage the good ones.Perhaps there is a spray I can use too kill off the mould spores?Perhaps I am worrying too much being a first time breeder? Any advice anyone?

could you post a pic?

a pic would probably help getting advice with your problem. if the mold is white, you probably have to much humidity,or not enough air circulation. if so open the container and let it dry out a little. if its green or blue they say to use a anti-fungal powders such as clotrimazole (lotrimin) for athlete's foot,or swabbing the bad areas with a listerine moistened q-tip. i would only remove the "bad" eggs as a last resort,as you could cause damage to the healthy eggs.i have heard of this kind of problem many times,and supposedly if caught early enough the eggs can usually be saved. i hope this helps,i know how worring it can be this is my first cluth of corn eggs too please keep us posted on how your eggs are doing.

Is that date right? ~~~~~~~:~

You said that they.......

ps,they were laid on 5/15/03,so i know there not denting because their about to hatch.

I thought that they didn't hatch for nine weeks, I'm I that off? If I am then I'm in big trouble How long is it really, not nine weeks? Sam ~~~~~~:~

Another spot to look for good ideas is with Serpwidgets postings. Good luck!

Tuning that baby in...

herphunter, sounds like you are perhaps using a hovabator type incubator?
Keeping the incubator in a room with a constant temperature and no drafts can be a real plus, the Wafer and electronic thermostats change set point when the room they are in changes temperature.
They're funny that way.

Of course if you had that situation, depending on "room temperatures", one may not even need a heat regulation device in the first place.

I understand that many Corn Snake breeders around here incubate at Room temperatures, and not necessarily that constant of a temperature, i.e. nightime drops and all...
the 70 to 90 degrees fahrenheit range is mentioned in Bill and Kathy Loves "Cornsnake manual"...quote:
A range of incubation temperatures, from 70 to 90 degrees farenheight, is well tolerated, especially if those extremes only represent fluctuations over the course of the day and not the average for most of it.
(PG. 56, first paragraph , Cornsnake Manual)
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/sh...10&highlight=eggs+room+temperature+incubation
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/sh...08&highlight=eggs+room+temperature+incubation
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/sh...16&highlight=eggs+room+temperature+incubation

Sometimes the "wafer" temperature sensor/ regulator can go bad on these hovabator units.

I use to hatch out chicken and quail eggs with hovabators, one learns to keep a spare wafer, if they do go out, it's 5 minutes after the store closes for a long holiday week end.
Many just replace the wafer before proceeding to incubate valuable eggs and hang on to the old ones as emergency spares.
Most feed stores, around here anyways, sell replacement wafers, and online (poultry supply) too.
But, If your not using a Hovabator, why... never mind

Antifungal powder post...
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1337&highlight=eggs+antifungal

Re: Is that date right? ~~~~~~~:~

PSYCOSNAKEMOM said:

You said that they.......

ps,they were laid on 5/15/03,so i know there not denting because their about to hatch.

I thought that they didn't hatch for nine weeks, I'm I that off? If I am then I'm in big trouble How long is it really, not nine weeks? Sam ~~~~~~:~

Another spot to look for good ideas is with Serpwidgets postings. Good luck!

Click to expand...

I think herphunter was saying that he knew that's NOT why they were denting.

Ahhhh~~~~~~~~:~

Duh, I get it now, whew. I went right home and reread the manual. There should be one of those "Cornsnaking for Dummies" books out there. Sam ~~~~~~~~:~

"Corn Snakes for Complete Dummie's".

Not a bad idea at all.
The problem arises when they resemble the name of the book...but of course, no true "bonafide Dummy" would be caught dead reading (learning) in the first place.

Many a dummies take on the Corn Snake Care "thing" is, imho:
"Take care of the big stuff, and the details will take care of themselves".


Whats that other saying I've heard, "take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves... or something like that.

Reading...
Why that's what one does AFTER "things" go wrong, you know, "all of a sudden" like, "out of nowhere"...
Wow, I wonder how "that" happened, hmm, .

ignorance can be bliss...
if you do it right.

Now, If brains were dynamite, some folks would be hard pressed to muster up a little firecrackers worth...
~CowBoyWays 99 year old Gramma~
Thanks Gramma, we all new that old saying would come in handy "someday".

She has "spoken" of certain people she has known in her long life that were "dumber than dog", now I paraphrase here, "doo doo".
Oldie but a goodie, that one.
A classic, traditional, Norwegion expression of endearment from the "Old Country", I suspect. hehe ;~)


herphunter, how's that "egg thing" working out for you?
Got everything "dialed in"?

It is unreasonable to think you can keep the temp at 82.3 degrees. I think a 5 or 6 degrees range would be fine. In fact I know people that incubate theirs on a shelf on their porch. The temperature probably swings as much as 15 degrees and the eggs hatch just fine. IMHO

Just had to share this~~~~~:~

CowBoyWay got me to thinkin' I remembered this email I received the other day. I'm still laughing ~~~~~~~~:~ Sam

Subject: Leadership?



Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed - A magazine

recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to

submit quotes from their real life Dilbert-type managers.


Here are the finalists:


#13. "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building

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WA.)


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(Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)


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(Advertising/ Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)


#9. "Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule."


#8. "No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been

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#7. "My Boss spent the entire weekend retyping a 25 page proposal that only

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#6. Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say."

(Marketing execu tive, Citrix Corporation)


#5. My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I

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(Microsoft, Legal Affairs Division)


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A month later, I resigned. In accordance with company policy, I created my

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