Proper temps and humidity for eggs

Can anyone point me to a good thread or other source on the proper temps and humidity for eggs during incubation?

I'm still at least a couple months away from actual eggs, but I think I need to start planning now. I was originally thinking it might be neat to try maternal incubation... and I'd just set up an incubator as a back-up in case of roll-outs... but as I'm getting closer, I'm feeling less like leaving things to chance. I don't have perfect control of the temps in my breeding tubs, and I seem to have even less control over the humidity... and I know too much moisture is as deadly to eggs as too little.

So I'm wondering what the acceptable ranges are? And is there anybody out there with experience with maternal incubation?

I might just break down and slap them straight in the incubator after all!

89-90*F at 100% humidity.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

89-90*F at 100% humidity.

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100% can't possibly be right, can it? I've heard of them rotting from to much moisture. Or is that just contact with moisture?

Well if you have slugs or if you have too damp of a substrate, then yes mold can happen. You do want to maintain 100% humidity or as close to that as you can. Regulate temps with large water bottles or a bunch of smaller water bottles to help keep the temperature consistently at 89-90 degrees.

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Originally Posted by loonunit

100% can't possibly be right, can it? I've heard of them rotting from to much moisture. Or is that just contact with moisture?

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From what I have read 95-100% is what is needed. Condensation is caused by unequal temps on opposite sides of the tub/glass. Humidity won't cause moisture. I mean hell just go down to South Florida in the summer can get up to 90% plus humidity but it's not wet though.

There is a big difference in eggs being exposed to humidity and being exposed to moisture. Condensation dripping on eggs or substrate being soggy wet will cause problems. Substrate should clump up when squeezed but you should not be able to squeeze water out of it. Temps can vary a little too...86-90*. Eggs will take longer to hatch at 86* and will hatch sooner at 90*. Personally I incubate at 89-90*

I did substrateless last year, and it worked perfectly. I incubate at 88 to 90 with the humidity as high as possible.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

I did substrateless last year, and it worked perfectly. I incubate at 88 to 90 with the humidity as high as possible.

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"Substrateless"? So where does the humidity come from in your incubator?

you get a tub around 6qt in size. put water in the bottom, go to home depot and get the light grid that has small squares, used for drop ceilings. cut to fit tub, some breeders stack them to keep eggs out of the water, others will use something like pvc to get the grid out of the water. now your eggs will remain dry and instead of putting the lid on use glad press n seal. nothing else like saran wrap. use press n seal. this will keep the humidity up. when you check your eggs about once a week, this will give them fresh air. about the last 2 weeks, peel a corner back to make a very small hole . this is when the eggs need a lot of oxygen. also when checking the eggs be careful not to splash them or have them roll. when the hatchlings pip, replace the press n seal with the lid that you put a few air holes in so the hatchlings don't get out.

I've seen it done both ways - substrate and the rack. I like a 6qt tub with hatchrite, the cling wrap over the top, then snap the lid on and pop in incubator at 89 and 100% humidity. Then, I just "burp" the tub every 3 or 4 days, which just basically means opening the lid of the tub and recycling the air. Seems to be the winning method for me, but good luck to you. There's also a sticky on setting up an egg laying tub that's pretty good.

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Originally Posted by jamesa2580

I've seen it done both ways - substrate and the rack. I like a 6qt tub with hatchrite, the cling wrap over the top, then snap the lid on and pop in incubator at 89 and 100% humidity. Then, I just "burp" the tub every 3 or 4 days, which just basically means opening the lid of the tub and recycling the air. Seems to be the winning method for me, but good luck to you. There's also a sticky on setting up an egg laying tub that's pretty good.

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Yeah, I read the sticky. Backwards and forwards and upside-down!

Basically, I'm losing my nerve on doing maternal incubation. I live in the desert, and it's soooo dry here... I just don't feel like there's enough control over the humidity & temps with maternal incubation.

When you say maternal incubation, you mean with the female wrapped around? I would advise against that. The female only stays wrapped to protect the eggs (that's what they do in the wild.) They don't serve as an incubator - the external conditions provide that. When you incubate the eggs, you have 100% control over temp and humidity and leave nothing to chance. With a female that only produces once a year, I would want to do everything I could to see those eggs, which were hard to get into the world, hatch.
Also, after she lays eggs, your girl is exhausted and probably hasn't eaten in a couple months, so you can get her off those eggs, back in her tub, and back on feed. She'll bounce back quicker and regain weight if you can get her to feed and relax after laying those eggs.

This is a substrateless setup. Eggs never touch the medium thus you can keep it as wet as you want without soaking the eggs.
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...5xphantom2.jpg

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Originally Posted by jamesa2580

When you say maternal incubation, you mean with the female wrapped around? I would advise against that. The female only stays wrapped to protect the eggs (that's what they do in the wild.) They don't serve as an incubator - the external conditions provide that. When you incubate the eggs, you have 100% control over temp and humidity and leave nothing to chance. With a female that only produces once a year, I would want to do everything I could to see those eggs, which were hard to get into the world, hatch.
Also, after she lays eggs, your girl is exhausted and probably hasn't eaten in a couple months, so you can get her off those eggs, back in her tub, and back on feed. She'll bounce back quicker and regain weight if you can get her to feed and relax after laying those eggs.

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Well, no, she doesn't do NOTHING-- if she's big enough to wrap around completely, apparently she helps keep the humidity up. And her body will help regulate the temps you provide, in the same manner as the water bottles at the bottom of the incubator.

And it's possible that we're doing them a disservice in the long run separating them from the eggs. We assume that fasting for that long is bad, but that's what they do naturally. (Whereas they probably DON'T breed every year naturally...) But we really don't have any good statistics on female life expectancy vs. breeding practices. I've not even really heard any anecdotal evidence one way or the other.

But... still... the control in an actual incubator is much greater. And my girls are both hanging tough at 1400 grams, not 1500 grams. And and and....

So maybe I'll try maternal incubation? But NEXT year.

my incubators are like rich's set up, substrateless, all i did was lay down the egg create type stuff and drill holes in the bottom of the tubs. hatched every egg i've put in there so far. the humidity comes form the open trays of water in the incubator. i think my temps were 89. humidity was 100%.