homemade incubator: temp question

[2kidsn'chickens]

Hello all!
Well, I made a homemade still air incubator out of the "fridge" cooler that came with our pop up camper. I put glass windows in the door for viewing, drilled a hole for a lamp fixture, wired it up ala Miss Prissy with a water heater thermostat, made my own wiggler since I couldnt find one and I have to say I am pretty proud of myself! lol. I will try posting a pic later when I am at home.

My question is this: Over the course of the day my "wiggler" temp is a steady 99.5-99.7 degrees with a max of 100 at times but my air temps fluctuate considerably! It will get to 102-104 in there and the light turns off and then pops back on and the temp reads 96-98. But like I said the wiggler temp stays pretty consistant, should I be worried about the air temp as much?

Also everything is set up on the little shelf in the fridge which is a plastic pan basically and I have a large container of water at the bottom which keeps it at 25% humidity. Any ideas on how to raise the humidity without putting holes in the shelf? Hubby suggested "hanging" cups from the upper walls so the chicks couldnt get into them and drown.

TIA, I truly appreciate this site/community and all you have to share!
Sara

 

[TexasVet]

I wouldn't worry about the air temp, as long as the temp in the wiggler stays within range.

To raise the humidity, use wet sponges on the shelves or near the fan. Add them incrementally though, because they can add a lot of humidity and too much is bad. I added one to my homemade bator about an hour ago and now I have condensation on the viewing glass. So I'll have to wring some water out of the sponge, or cut it down to a smaller size.

Kathy in Texas

 

[2kidsn'chickens]

Thanks Kathy!
I had a feeling it would be ok, just needed someone to confirm it!
Sara