Ya wanna pretty much keep the RRs @ the moisture level they were in the bag.
Put one aside and watch how it dries up- kinda hard to describe. If they get too dry, they're suddenly hydrophobic, but till then they take water really nicely. Watch out for too wet- well before saturation.

All depends on conditions, around the RR as well as the plant. Heating pad will accellerate drying, high humidity around RR will delay- yer gonna have to f%^k with it.

Ya might want to try taking a bunch of cuttings of your house plants, just too practice. It's all pretty much the same, and they make great gifts.