There are too many replies for me to burn through before I have to disappear for meetings but it seems the question was answered. I will toss in my two cents just for forms sake
I will not unnecessarily separate eggs but in cases like this I do because the contact with the lid will promote wicking of condensation onto the egg that can lead to loss. Separating eggs is fairly easy if they are freshly laid, if they have started to firm up they are a little tougher to pull but it can be done, you just have to be slooooooooooooooooooow and patient about it. Gentle kneading pressure, not quick ripping pull. If you get a spot that is particularly resilient, you can use dental floss to very carefully work between the eggs
Well, after 72 days I decided it was time to pull the clutch. There were issues with the humidity early on, and I’ll note, this has a lot to do with my incubator by design, the air circulates very evenly through the incubation chamber but without being sealed, allowed too much air into the box at the rate it circulates without press and seal. Around day 16 or so I noticed a considerable dimple in some of the eggs, and a lack of condensation in the media below, so I added the press and seal but I believe the media lost too much moisture before I attended to it by then. I added water to the media a week or so later, after setting up a dummy box with a thermometer/hygrometer, after noticing the difference in condensation in the media at the bottom of the dummy box while at ~65% humidity, after just under a week. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to maintain this clutch and lost all 6 eggs, and the box was overtaken by mites towards the end. I’ve cleaned the incubator out and eradicated the mites, and I’ll be setting up another incubation box like the dummy for the next clutch. This one will get filed under “The Ugly” but it’s a good learning experience, for me and anyone interested in looking at this.
So, to bring this thread back to life, I took the time to wait things out on two somewhat separate clutches (laid/incubated three days apart), only this time, with very different results. The excessive airflow in the incubator was addressed, and I also kept my clutches covered in Press and Seal, mostly due to the way the boxes I used shut and sealed, or rather, did not seal. I’ll be looking for latch-top style boxes for the next couple of clutches coming up soon, these were some kind of Iris container I was never able to locate for resale, and they did well with the press and seal, but I believe a latch-top style will work just as well, and you’ll probably have less condensation drip on the eggs whenever you open them up to breathe (usually around day 50 or so), although drying them off with a dry paper towel if that happens isn’t very difficult. Anyway, the first pairing, the 5 egg clutch, was Pastel GHI x Pastel , and the second, the 7 egg clutch, was a possible split pairing, Banana x Champagne, and Pinstripe Enchi Yellowbelly x Champagne. The first (Pastel GHI x Pastel) was laid on 6/27/2023, and incubated for 64 days, the second (Banana x Pinstripe Enchi Yellowbelly x Champagne) was laid 6/30/2023, and incubated for 61 days. Both were kept at 87.6° F, and although they haven’t finished hatching yet, all look very healthy and I expect healthy hatchlings from all the eggs in both clutches.
Check in/breathing opportunity on 8/24, removed and replaced Press and Seal, dried off eggs after condensation drip-down during the process, both clutches
