88F and as near to 100% humidity without getting the eggs wet is usually about right.
Although, i only measure the temperature and for humidity I mix one cup of water, to 8 cups of vermiculite. I then add another layer of dry vermiculite for the eggs to sit on. This seems to work fine for me.
You don't want any temperature or humidity variations through incubation, as it can kill the eggs.
90% will probably be ok (i think i managed it once at 94%), as long as you don't let it fluctuate too high or low, that's where the main problems arise.
If the eggs start caving in early, then they're not getting enough humidity.
Becareful not to get too wet, too much moisture will kill the eggs
Jonny what do you use to control the temps? Just a normal pulse stat? What is the maximum fuctuations in temp and humidity before the eggs will die?88F and as near to 100% humidity without getting the eggs wet is usually about right.
Although, i only measure the temperature and for humidity I mix one cup of water, to 8 cups of vermiculite. I then add another layer of dry vermiculite for the eggs to sit on. This seems to work fine for me.
You don't want any temperature or humidity variations through incubation, as it can kill the eggs.
Cool thanks.I had a problem with my incubator last year, when summer time came along. I tested the incubator in winter time, and it was consistently accurate during that period. Summer came along and created a pretty big temperature variation in the room.
Anyway, inside the incubator i had it go from 90-95F, which probably also cooked the eggs too much. The normal allowance, as far as i know, is +/- 1F, but if you can keep it even closer to 88F, then brilliant. I believe if you get something like a 20% drop or a 20% increase in humidity, you'll probably kill the eggs as well.. this was something VPI tested for, and i don't have their book with me right now, so cant say exactly. It's something along those lines. If i remember right they successfully hatched royals at 70% humidity, but wanted to experiment what would happen if we changed the incubation conditions, during incubation, and both temperature and humidity changes can affect the outcome.
Pulse stats are definitely what i would recommend, on/off's can vary a lot. I would also recommend good air circulation to create even temperatures, if using something like a fridge. I found later on that i greatly benefited from air circulation in the actual room, as well as in the incubator.