I was curious if anyone has incubated their python eggs at a slightly cooler than “normal”? Most seem to incubate at ~89F @ 55-60 days was curious if anyone had tried cooler temps for longer time? I have a small clutch and im cooking at 86F for as long as it takes, anyone else like the low and slow method?
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I think that method is starting to be a trend, more people are doing it with more species. I know some sd retic breeders think they need cooler temps and are going sometimes over 100 days incubating! Just keep track of when they start to indent whenever that may be, should give you a heads up of being close. Good luck!
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I believe that both of the MPR hosts cook a little cooler. But I would check their annual breeding show to confirm that. Or just drop them a line, they are both good guys
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I know several people who incubate between 86 - 88 if they are doing a pairing that is known to have wobble, kinks, etc. Apparently at a lower temperature, for a longer incubation period - the issues that would normally arise are rarely seen. Some of them even have a separate incubator just for special clutches like that.
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Something I want to cover since the topic has been brought up - LOWER INCUBATION TEMPS DO NOT “FIX” THESE GENETIC ISSUES
Spiders incubated lower will still have wobble and will still pass it on to their offspring
BlkPastels/Cinnies incubated lower will still have the potential to have kinked and duckbilled supers and will still pass it on to their offspring
Etc., etc., etc.
I have previously seen people try and pass of their problem morph as a “cured” line because they incubated them lower
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I was always under the impression that low and slow equated to larger and healthier babies, this was my goal in lowering the temps, this is also my first clutch in over a decade so will start with this clutch as my baseline. Thanks for all the replies everyone…
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Do you think incubation temps affect color and pattern? Ive heard fluctuations in incubation can alter pattern…was curious if those who incubate cooler notice any coloration differences in hatchlings…ie brighter, more colorful, ect…
It is not so much temp fluctuation that that alters pattern as it is radical and dramatic temp changes.
Here is an analogy I used years ago on another platform:
Imagine a car engine.
You can gently run it from idle to 3k RPM with an occasional bump up to 5k RPM and back to idle over and over, day in and day out, and it does not really cause problems.
Take that same engine, run it from idle to 3k RPM like normal but then rapidly push it up to 9k RPM and then, immediately and without any transition, slam the car into PARK. That engine is going to have some issues
An incubator that fluxes over a few degrees over the course of the day with a random small bump is the first engine. A probe failure that causes the temps to go significantly higher than normal and then getting suddenly pulled out to room temp and left there while the incubator gets fixed is the second engine
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