# Incubation question



## turtlelady80 (Jul 2, 2012)

After you put your eggs in the incubator and do the ratio 1;1 with the vermiculite/water, what do you do when the vermiculite gets dry after a few weeks? I have read "spray the eggs", ive read "DON'T spray the eggs". What Ive been doing is taking the eggs out of the plastic container they are in, spraying the vermiculite with warm water then mixing it up until it looks moist again (not wet) then putting the eggs back in the container then back into the incubator. There has got to be another way without messing with the eggs so much. 
NOTE: When the vermiculite gets dried out, my incubator is still at 80% humidity. Do I really need the vermiculite to always be moist if the humidity is still at 80? What works for you guys?


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## jackrat (Jul 2, 2012)

If your incubator is at 80%,you should be fine. What I do is take a turkey baster filled with warm water and inject it into the vermiculite when the humidity gets a little low.


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## turtlelady80 (Jul 2, 2012)

Ok great ideA! Thanks!


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## Tom (Jul 2, 2012)

Something is off if your media is drying out that fast. How much ventilation is there in your plastic containers that sit in the incubator? Are you using the lid? What species are you incubating?

It is very dry here and I might add a tablespoon of water every six weeks or so to mine. Sounds like you might have too much ventilation.


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## GBtortoises (Jul 3, 2012)

I agree with Tom. If it's drying out that fast humidity is escaping the incubator too easily. Care has to be taken when adding water to incubation medium. It's very easy mistake the top of the medium for being dry when in fact excessive water may be building up at the bottom of the container under the egg. This will cause the egg to rot from the bottom. 

If the air in your incubator remains above 65% consistently then there should be no need to add more moisture. Many people incubate eggs with no medium at all. In reality as long as the correct temperatures and humidity levels within the incubator are maintained the medium is doing nothing but holding the egg in place. In nature the soil as well as the moist air in the next cavity help to maintain suitable humidity levels. The soil that the eggs sit in is rarely ever as wet as damp vermiculite. If it were, without adequate air exchange they'd all succumb to fungus and rot. In an incubator where the heat source is more direct and dry, a more direct moisture source is required to maintain adequate humidity levels. Rather than constantly saturating the medium, which can cause water build up in the bottom of the container, as well as a constant "up and down" of the humdity level, a better solution is to include an open water container in the incubator to provide air humidity. I also add a sponge to the water container to act as a wick. It helps to draw the water out of the container better which gets it into the air within the incubator better. I also do not use vermiculite anymore. I did for many years and always had the same struggles with it that you are having. I have experimented with several different mediums over the years and found that a product called Hatch Rite and horticultural grade Perlite both work equally as well for an incubation medium. There is no need to add any water to either medium. Both are light and because the particles do not pack tight against each other allow for good air exchange and air flow around the egg. By using either of these mediums (and probably some others), along with a water container in the incubator, I can easily maintain a constant humdiity of 68-72% at 87-89 degrees. 
Another factor you may want to look at is the humdity (and temperature) level outside the incubator. If you are keeping it in a room that is very dry, 10% or more below the level in the incubator, you will have a more difficult time maintaining the humidity level within the incubator. The same goes for temperature. If the temperature outside the incubator is dramatically different the incubator will have difficult time maintaining the desired temperatures. This is especially true if there is a considerable temperature difference from night to day.


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## turtlelady80 (Jul 4, 2012)

Wow. Thank you so so much for all that info. Well I don't use lids on my containers. I'm guessing maybe I should? (With holes of course) Like I said though, the humidity inside always measures 80%. So if the temp inside is 86 and the humidity reads 80% and I open the incubator for fresh air exchange everyday, is that good?


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## ALDABRAMAN (Jul 4, 2012)

*I start with 50/50 and add water as needed to maintain the humidity levels we need for our species. *


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