(Edit: prev title- Incubator won’t reach 100% humidity anymore)
Hello there, I’m in need of experienced people here!
I built one of those ice chest incubators-
Two aquarium heaters
Aquarium fans to circulate the water
Egg crate on platform above the water line
Egg box with perlite/water mix and egg crate resting on top
Press n Seal layer with lid resting on top to keep water formed from condensation off the eggs.
I’ve tested this set up multiple times over week+ long periods to see how it holds temp and humidity and have had it staying within 89.0-89.5F and 100% humidity during all of those tests.
The thermometer I’m using is a bluetooth one that sits directly in the egg box.
But now that there’s eggs in the box, the best I can get is 95% humidity.
I’ve added more water to the perlite.
I’ve tightened the press n seal
I’ve loosened the press n seal
I’ve laid the lid on top
I’ve made sure the lid was clamped on tight
I gave about a day between each change to give it time to recover, and no matter what I do it pretty consistently stays between 95-97% with all of the fiddling.
I’ve read online that it should be 100% or you run the risk of the eggs drying out.
Is 95% okay, or do I need to figure something else out?
How are the eggs themselves looking, are they plump and round or are they denting in?
The humidity may be getting lower because the eggs are taking in the moisture. As long as there isn’t any condensation on the eggs or the eggs aren’t denting in and you have good consistent temps (86°F) they should be fine.
If you keep fiddling with the setup that very well may cause too much moisture to escape.
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I agree with everything above.
The more you peek the more instability.
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This sounds like the DIY Igloo incubator from SNKE LTD. Are you sealing you egg box with the Press’N Seal? Does your egg box have any ventilation holes?
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Yes, the eggs are still very plump looking, no denting.
Yes to both press and seal and a couple ventilation holes on the bix.
In your DIY cooler incubator with a heated, circulating reservoir of water, you want the air in the cooler to equilibrize with the air in the egg box. The air in the cooler will be at 100% humidity. You want that air to naturally mix with the air in the egg box. That’s how you get the humidity in the egg box up to 100%. So your egg box will need a few ventilation holes. Sounds like you have a couple. You may need a couple more. And since you don’t want the egg box to be a closed environment, you do not want to use press and seal, that would work against the effort to get the egg box humidity up to match the cooler air humidity of 100%. Just put the lid on the egg box. This is probably not an issue, but you want the lid to be secure enough to where the hatched babies cannot push the lid off and end up swimming/drowning in the cooler reservoir. If you are worried about condensation forming on the lid and dripping on the eggs, you can tilt the egg box slightly so any water runs off the lid and down the side of the egg box. Using this setup, you don’t need any medium in the egg box for the purpose of humidity. All the humidity will come from the air in the cooler. However, you may still want to use some damp medium to keep the eggs from rolling in the egg box.
All that said, you said your eggs are still plump, which is excellent. As they get close to hatching, maybe a week left, they should start to dimple. This is totally normal and not a symptom of too low humidity. And you said your humidity is at 95% in the egg box, that’s probably close enough to 100% to have a successful hatch rate. Remember, nobody is monitoring the humidity level for these eggs in the wild and they hatch just fine. Nature is quite resilient and tolerant. If it wasn’t, the BP species would have gone extinct a long time ago.
Can you supply some pics of your DIY incubator setup?
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Out of my current five seasons I can tell you I’ve never checked humidity, and I’ve never had an issue.
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The humidity level in the incubation boxes is more important than in the incubator itself.
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Sorry it took a bit, been very busy with work.
I’ve included a few pics of the cooler (it’s housed in my unused guest shower).
The platform is supported by some well-cleaned cement paving stones- I figured cement would be good at retaining heat.
I’ve added more holes to the box, removed the press n seal, and added a tupperware lid to give a little incline to keep built up condensation off the eggs.
And new pic of the eggs included.
My bluetooth thermometer keeps historical data, so I can check temps and humidity without opening the incubator, but also have a record incase of any unexplained spikes or drops. (The one drop you see is from my fiddling).
Am I being overanxious due to this being my first clutch? Probably 
But I appreciate all of the help and input I’ve received!
We’re little over a week into about a two-month wait, idk how y’all do it
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That setup looks pretty good. Keep monitoring the temps & humidity and try to be patient. I would think if the egg box humidity is >= 95% you should be fine.
Your temps concern me a little bit. 90°F is coming close to the upper bound on what’s considered safe. Higher temps will reduce the cook time, but it’ll also increase the likelihood of birth defects. If I were you, I’d shoot for egg box temps closer to 86°F. It’ll add maybe a week to the cook time, but it should decrease the chance of birth defects.
Some people claim a lower cooking temp results in larger babies that feed much better, but how much of that is anecdotal vs science. But we do know too high of temps can lead to birth defects.
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Thank you, I’ll lower the temps a bit then- I don’t mind them taking longer to hatch out as long as they hatch out healthy 
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Those eggs all look wonderful if they are a week old in that photo.
As long as the humidity is staying over 95 I wouldn’t worry.
I do agree that close to 90 is risky. I usually do 86-88 so I have a small buffer if a spike happens somehow.
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Thank you, yes they’re 10 days old in the photo I posted today.
I’ve lowered down the temps
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Alright, we’re holding steady at 87° and 96% humidity- I think that’s the best we’re going to get
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Sounds fantastic. Pay for our advice with pictures when they hatch.
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Hahaha, trust- you guys will get ALL the pictures
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Had to adjust the backup heater because I initially turned it off to lower the temps, but it turns out it was helping stabilize temps more than I realized.
Since I had to pull out the eggs anyways, I figured I’d check on them and take a pic.
We’re at 16 days and they’re all still firm and plump- I’ve noticed odd spotting here and there. Is that any reason for concern?
I need to get a smaller flashlight, but for the top most ones that I was able to candle- all have very strong looking veins!
Maybe next week I’ll try candling them again when I circulate the air again- I’m trying to forget them otherwise and its very hard
But hey, a quarter of the way until hatch day, give or take! Even if all the eggs hatch out, I’ll only need to get my 10 slot baby rack up and ready so I’ll start getting that ready to give my hands something to do
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They look fantastic! Make sure the eggs are not touching the side walls of the egg box. That will cause too much contact with condensation, which is bad for the eggs. I don’t see any mold spots. You might want to get a cheap bottle of generic Athlete’s Foot antifungal powder just to have it on-hand.
Sometimes eggs are laid with a “window”. That’s a spot where the egg did not fully calcify. It’s a partially transparent spot and you can often see the developing embryo inside. I think I see one of those spots on one of your eggs. Since there’s not much calcium there, the eggshell is naturally weaker on that spot. It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just as likely to hatch just as any other egg. Just be aware of that thin spot and be careful not to poke it there.
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They still look good to me.
Sometimes windows will look more noticeable as they incubate. I have one right now that has gone from looking normal to getting a boob end in the first month.
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Thank you! Due to the angle, they look closer to the walls of the tub than they actually are.
I’ll grab some antifungal powder on my next grocery run
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