proper humidity?

[amv123]

anyone know the correct humidity level if im using vermiculite? mine is at 95% right is this too high?

 

[amv123]

anyone know?

 

[GeckoGathering]

anyone know?

IMHO .....its as if they are setting in a puddle of water..........If you have holes in the lid it could help. Vermiculite is holding the water. Perlite lets it drain to the bottom of the container. The egg on top get humidy. My opinion is a far better choice for less questions that arewithout answers.Weight of Perlite X .8 = water.
No holes in the lid. Pop the lids on average once a week.
Never add any water through the hatch process. Works great.
Take care. / Hj

 

[lytlesnake]

If your humidity is too high I recommend correcting it immediately. I lost some eggs this year due to this. They swelled. I don't know what the humidity level is supposed to be, I just use a .8:1 or 1:1 water/vermiculite ratio by weight as per Albey's method. If the containers feel heavy it's definitely too wet. Good luck.

 

[GeckoGathering]

If your humidity is too high I recommend correcting it immediately. I lost some eggs this year due to this. They swelled. I don't know what the humidity level is supposed to be, I just use a .8:1 or 1:1 water/vermiculite ratio by weight as per Albey's method. If the containers feel heavy it's definitely too wet. Good luck.

(per Albey method): we use Perlite as an incubation medium. You can also see that there are no air holes in the servin’ saver.

If you are wondering why the eggs are all dirty looking, it is because we use moist Vermiculite in all of our egg laying chambers. We have found it to be the best lay-box medium.

The next thing we need to do is figure out the proper way to provide the right amount of humidity for the eggs to hatch in. I incubate the eggs in a Perlite to water ratio of – 1 part Perlite to .8 parts water by weight.



Please note that the two products are different (per Hoffman Co., manufactures of both) Perlite is a drainage material. Vermiculite retains moisture. Using the Albey method to incubate by substituting the two products will not work the same. You will have too much moisture and egg problems..........its almost like the gecko laying its egg in a puddle of water compared to a moist well drained location.........take care. HJ

 

[lytlesnake]

Actually a lot of people use vermiculite with the Albey method. I did not have great luck with perlite myself. I don't like how dusty perlite is either.

 

[GeckoGathering]

Actually a lot of people use vermiculite with the Albey method. I did not have great luck with perlite myself. I don't like how dusty perlite is either.

Yes, I agree with both your comments.
Last year I had 2 hatchings from 12 eggs.
I switched to perlite after thinking, "Why doesn't Albey just go ahead and use vermiculite in both, since he has it in the lay boxes already? ......I called the Hoffman company about the differences in the two products.
Made a switch to Perlite
plus I do not use the incubator for females any longer, (as per Albey's comment.) (I also feel can cause egg hatching problems)
This year so far, I had 10 hatching from 10 eggs. No bad eggs, no dents, no deformities.
10 more eggs to go, hoping for the same percentage to further support the changes.
But we gotta go with what seems to work the best for us.
Hope you have lots of good hatchings. Take care, / HJ

 

[lytlesnake]

That is interesting about the water retention differences in the two products though. If I try perlite again I'm gonna rinse and dry it before use.

 

[brad.a.c]

Hope you can hatch the eggs ok.

 

[efx*]

I used vermiculite at first I only hatched 2 geckos hatch out of it and had the worst luck out of it all year, as soon as I changed to perlite I was hatching babies out like crazy

 

[GeckoGathering]

Denting ?? Bad Eggs

That is interesting about the water retention differences in the two products though. If I try perlite again I'm gonna rinse and dry it before use.

While I am at this thread I am
going to lay my theory on you guys to use it as you may.
Here is my opinion on what happens with the dented + supposedly unfertilized eggs that are mentioned on this forum so often.
I certainly don't think it is the reason for ALL mentioned, but I do feel it results in a large number of them..............Too much moisture
causes the lower part of the shell to soften. Moisture and nutrients are pulled from the egg along with the weight of the egg adding to the problem.
The denting occurs and brings thoughts of drying out or a non fertilized egg.
Which may be, but if drying out, my thought is it would show at the top. And as far as some eggs coming out of it by filling up the dent. Well if that
happens and the egg still goes bad.....I think it is all do to what was drawn out and lost as far as the importance to the development of the gecko. Because what replaced it was probable just water........... I'm sure I'm not the only one that has pipped a nice tightly stretched egg to find a partial head and eyes but thats all........wondering why it terminated.??????...............
....Good hatchings to all............take care. HJ