LilBlue
New Member
Hello everyone, I need help figuring out why my silkworms eggs are not hatching. I have followed the instructions on Mulberry Farms website exactly. I've read everything on here 3 times over, even before I started hatching. I started doing this in May of this year, my first batch was perfect. And then it all went down hill...
Incubator - Wine cooler turned on its side. Heat tape along the back. Helix 1000 thermostat. I use damp paper towels in the incubator close to the dishes, but not inside, which keeps the humidity between 70-80%(it stays pretty consistent).
Large petri dishes. Regular glue stick(I was told it shouldn't matter if it is acid free...). I tried scotch tape and paper towel as well. Dishes covered with a bowl and have an edge propped up for ventilation, 1/4".
Storage - Fridge was 37-40F. I turned it down last night to aim for 35-37F. Eggs kept in crisper with a small dish of water in the opposite corner. At first in May I didn't have a water dish in there because I didn't recall needing humidity in the fridge(my 2nd batch of eggs had the proper storage). And now my 3rd batch of eggs have proper storage.
So 10K eggs later, I have nothing and I am really frustrated. I have tried temps between 79-84F, as Mulberry Farms said that range would be good, and the warmer it is in that range, the sooner they will hatch. I hatched my very first batch at 82F in 6 days. There was humidity in there(paper towel method), but silly me I didn't have a gauge in there(there is now).
Over the summer, being really hot, I was having issues with trying to keep the humidity stable. Now being fall it is(also figured out how to better control my room temp in the basement - remove a couple drop ceiling tiles and add a fan). I noticed during the summer hatches that the eggs would change colour, but not as intensely as the first batch. And when I looked at them closely, the eggs looked swollen, and they were a dark green colour. I could see them fully formed in their shell. In June I continued trying to hatch eggs from the first batch, still at 82F, but having humidity control issues with the heat, only 45 eggs hatched out of a few hundred, they did not survive.
I read in some threads on here some people think that 78F is even too high, that 76F is more ideal. And some say they just leave them out in room temps(my house and reptile room stay around 76F).
I keep everything super duper clean. From food prep to my incubator(which was only used once a few years ago for ball python eggs). I use dish soap and a small amount of bleach, rinse everything really well with hot water, dried and air dried on clean towels. Small items like spoons, petri dishes get sealed up in a zip-lock bag to keep clean.
I think I have covered everything here. I may have missed something. I do have notes on my phone I could get on here.
Thanks!
Incubator - Wine cooler turned on its side. Heat tape along the back. Helix 1000 thermostat. I use damp paper towels in the incubator close to the dishes, but not inside, which keeps the humidity between 70-80%(it stays pretty consistent).
Large petri dishes. Regular glue stick(I was told it shouldn't matter if it is acid free...). I tried scotch tape and paper towel as well. Dishes covered with a bowl and have an edge propped up for ventilation, 1/4".
Storage - Fridge was 37-40F. I turned it down last night to aim for 35-37F. Eggs kept in crisper with a small dish of water in the opposite corner. At first in May I didn't have a water dish in there because I didn't recall needing humidity in the fridge(my 2nd batch of eggs had the proper storage). And now my 3rd batch of eggs have proper storage.
So 10K eggs later, I have nothing and I am really frustrated. I have tried temps between 79-84F, as Mulberry Farms said that range would be good, and the warmer it is in that range, the sooner they will hatch. I hatched my very first batch at 82F in 6 days. There was humidity in there(paper towel method), but silly me I didn't have a gauge in there(there is now).
Over the summer, being really hot, I was having issues with trying to keep the humidity stable. Now being fall it is(also figured out how to better control my room temp in the basement - remove a couple drop ceiling tiles and add a fan). I noticed during the summer hatches that the eggs would change colour, but not as intensely as the first batch. And when I looked at them closely, the eggs looked swollen, and they were a dark green colour. I could see them fully formed in their shell. In June I continued trying to hatch eggs from the first batch, still at 82F, but having humidity control issues with the heat, only 45 eggs hatched out of a few hundred, they did not survive.
I read in some threads on here some people think that 78F is even too high, that 76F is more ideal. And some say they just leave them out in room temps(my house and reptile room stay around 76F).
I keep everything super duper clean. From food prep to my incubator(which was only used once a few years ago for ball python eggs). I use dish soap and a small amount of bleach, rinse everything really well with hot water, dried and air dried on clean towels. Small items like spoons, petri dishes get sealed up in a zip-lock bag to keep clean.
I think I have covered everything here. I may have missed something. I do have notes on my phone I could get on here.
Thanks!
