diff --git a/containers/talkbot/server.py b/containers/talkbot/server.py
index 57fbc3b..9bdbe1b 100644
--- a/containers/talkbot/server.py
+++ b/containers/talkbot/server.py
@@ -22,13 +22,13 @@ NC_PASSWORD = os.environ["NC_PASSWORD"]
 WHISPER_URL = os.environ.get("WHISPER_URL", "http://whisper:8080").rstrip("/")
 LLAMACPP_URL = os.environ.get("LLAMACPP_URL", "http://llamacpp:7000").rstrip("/")
 LLAMACPP_MODEL = os.environ.get("LLAMACPP_MODEL", "").strip()
-LLAMACPP_TIMEOUT = int(os.environ.get("LLAMACPP_TIMEOUT", "600"))
+LLAMACPP_TIMEOUT = int(os.environ.get("LLAMACPP_TIMEOUT") or "600")
 LLAMACPP_ENABLE_THINKING = (
     os.environ.get("LLAMACPP_ENABLE_THINKING", "false").lower()
     in {"1", "true", "yes", "on"}
 )
 QWEN_TTS_URL = os.environ.get("QWEN_TTS_URL", "http://qwen-tts:8000").rstrip("/")
-QWEN_TTS_TIMEOUT = int(os.environ.get("QWEN_TTS_TIMEOUT", "1800"))
+QWEN_TTS_TIMEOUT = int(os.environ.get("QWEN_TTS_TIMEOUT") or "1800")
 
 DEFAULT_TARGET_LANGUAGE = os.environ.get(
     "DEFAULT_TARGET_LANGUAGE",