First Clutch Ever, Here We Go!

[jonarnold85]

Hey everyone! First I want to thank everyone for taking the time to respond to all of the questions I've had over the last year or so. This forum has been extremely helpful.

Today my first ever clutch was laid. A pretty spider het pied female to a pastel pied male. I've been checking her constantly over the last few days and she just laid in the last couple of hours. So now I've got a few more questions as I nervously prepare to put them into the incubator.

1) I'm getting a good humidity (99% and steady for a month) using a tub with no air holes and press and seal. Is "burping" the tub once a week adequate until they are about ready to pip? Justin Kobylka said he leaves it on and never burps until they're pipping. Is this safe?
2) I tested tubs with no press and seal and I'm only getting up to about 82% humidity. This is too low right?
3) If I check the eggs and find a droplet has fallen from the press and seal on to the top of an egg is it safe to gently wipe it off with a paper towel?
4) Given that this is my first ever clutch, I'll probably be checking it constantly... Is it ok to "burp" it on a daily basis or will this be harmful?
5) Anything else helpful that I should know?

Im using a light diffuser on top of perlite with about a 5 to 1 water to perlite mixture by weight (2 to 1 perlite to water by volume). This mixture worked perfectly while testing and held between 88.9 and 89.5 degrees in the tub with a constant 99% humidity (using press and seal). I plan to put something on the press and seal to angle it to one corner to hopefully have water drop there if it condensates too much. Probably a coin, as was suggested in another thread.

Thanks in advance!

[Lord Sorril]

1) Opening once a week is fine - make sure you don't dawdle and let the temp drop too much taking photos and such...
Edit: Open every 2-3 days when approaching hatch date as Oxygen requirements will increase.
2) 82% is too low
3) Yes you can wipe water off the eggs with a paper towel-make sure the paper towel is fresh
4) Do not check them daily (if you have to open your incubator to do so)-you will cause temp. variations which could reduce viability/create defects
5a) The eggs are tougher than most people think
5b) Be prepared to remove eggs that die during the incubation process - don't panic - it happens - just make sure they are in fact dead before discarding.
5c) If you are suspending the eggs on light diffuser grating you can saturate the Perlite with water if you want - ratios aren't that important if the water doesn't touch the eggs -I use Perlite so the water doesn't splash when I pick up the containers-whatever works for you.