Share your incubator setups?

[AgeAye]

With a pterinochilus murinus sac to pull in ~10 days and hopefully a euathlus pulcherrimaklaasi "green" sac on the way I was hoping people would be willing to share their egg sac setups.
Right now I have taken a few containers the size of a coffee filter, and i plan on putting moist paper towels on the bottom, with a shallow cup half full of water, and the coffee filter resting on top, with several holes in the top of the container. Does anyone do something similar or do they use a robc style incubator? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKdgIt_CUlc

 

[catfishrod69]

Personally i dont like the RobC style.

Here is what i do. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...cubator-tutorial&highlight=incubator+tutorial

 

[prairiepanda]

Personally i dont like the RobC style.

Here is what i do. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...cubator-tutorial&highlight=incubator+tutorial

Can you elaborate on that? Why don't you like RobC style? I haven't tried breeding yet, but it seems like both these incubator styles are quite popular so I'm curious why people choose one or the other.

 

[catfishrod69]

I dont like the way its setup, and it doesnt seem to keep the humidity high enough. I chose to make a incubator that worked well for me, and so far with my incubators, the slings do great.

Can you elaborate on that? Why don't you like RobC style? I haven't tried breeding yet, but it seems like both these incubator styles are quite popular so I'm curious why people choose one or the other.

 

[Poec54]

With a pterinochilus murinus sac to pull in ~10 days and hopefully a euathlus pulcherrimaklaasi "green" sac on the way I was hoping people would be willing to share their egg sac setups.

Why pull a hammock sac? There's not much point in that. They almost invaribly go full term. I just wait until they're first instar and take them out them when they're still slow and clumsy.

 

[Arachtion]

Personally i dont like the RobC style.

Here is what i do. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...cubator-tutorial&highlight=incubator+tutorial

Pretty much how I incubated my Avic sac recently and had 71 out of it, 5 eggs that didn't develop and 23 got eaten in a cannibalistic feast, but so far as the humidity/set up is concerned it worked like a dream

 

[prairiepanda]

I can see why the humidity would be an issue with RobC's setup. He did mention that it's pretty humid in his T room. My place is very dry due to AC and desert conditions outside.

To OP: Could you post pics of your setup? Sounds neat!

 

[AgeAye]

It is convenient. I have a busy schedule and work 50+hrs a week. Id like to take care of it ahead of time to minimize time gathering the little ones and dealing with the angry female when I'm prepared to. Its going to be hard to get her out and get the sac with the way she is set up. In addition, id like to use that opportunity to replace substrate and redecorate. I had humidity concerns with rob c's setup as well.. strategically placed holes to maximize ventilation, and maintain humidity seems the best route. I know p murinus eggs probably could be pulled early and fair well on their own considering its a hammock and the mother doesn't do much except sit atop of it. Just a preference of mine to do it this way to feel out how I will approach future sacs. Thanks everyone, ill post pics of the setup this weekend or next week

 

[catfishrod69]

Nothing personal to Rob, but being a youtube hit, does not make you the premier tarantula keeper.

I can see why the humidity would be an issue with RobC's setup. He did mention that it's pretty humid in his T room. My place is very dry due to AC and desert conditions outside.

To OP: Could you post pics of your setup? Sounds neat!

 

[Poec54]

It is convenient. I have a busy schedule and work 50+hrs a week. Id like to take care of it ahead of time to minimize time gathering the little ones and dealing with the angry female when I'm prepared to. Its going to be hard to get her out and get the sac with the way she is set up. In addition, id like to use that opportunity to replace substrate and redecorate.

Suit yourself. You can take the female out at any point after a hammock sac is laid. 1st instars don't shed for 2 or 3 weeks, so you have a big window to scoop up them while they're still slow.

 

[catfishrod69]

I have a female I. mira who just double clutched last night. Tonight im going to rehouse her seperately from her sac. The first sac she ate half way through. So this time im going to illiminate that possibility. Even if the sac is a dud, atleast i will get to find out, instead of her eating it, and me never knowing. Ive never seperated a female from her sac before, but with hammock sacs it really doesnt matter. The sac is only guarded by the female.

 

[AgeAye]

Suit yourself. You can take the female out at any point after a hammock sac is laid. 1st instars don't shed for 2 or 3 weeks, so you have a big window to scoop up them while they're still slow.

I figured it didnt really matter for this species. Ive read a few places that you could even pull the sac right after its laid and it will do fine. (not saying that's true, just what Ive heard/read)

Is there a reason why you pull the mom out after they emerge? is there a benefit to this besides not having to set up an incubator?

 

[Poec54]

Is there a reason why you pull the mom out after they emerge? is there a benefit to this besides not having to set up an incubator?

I take the females out when the slings are 1st instar and I'm about to take the youngsters out. You don't want a female defending her brood when you separate the slings. I was just saying that you could take your girl out anytime now.

I've only incubated ball sacs. I put them in a 16 oz deli cup with one of those lids that has holes covered in cheese cloth (it keeps the humidity in). I put a slightly moist papertowel in the bottom as a cushion, and make a hammock out of a strip of panty hose, held on by a rubber band outside the cup. I let the hammock sag some. When I pull the sac I carefully tear it open and gently pour the babies out. I do this at 30-40 days, so their usually EWL's then, sometimes 1st instar. When the papertowel starts to dry I lightly mist it. I'll give an occasional very light mist to the hammock so the slings can drink. This allows me to inspect the babies and pull out any bad/dead ones so they don't start to decay and mold. My T room is warm this time of year (85-90 degrees daytime) so I don't use any artificial heat source.

 

[AgeAye]

I take the females out when the slings are 1st instar and I'm about to take the youngsters out. You don't want a female defending her brood when you separate the slings. I was just saying that you could take your girl out anytime now.

yeah, now that you mention that, I may do that. good idea.

 

[Shrike]

Here's an oldie but a goodie:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?108466-T-egg-incubator

 

[prairiepanda]

Here's an oldie but a goodie:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?108466-T-egg-incubator

This one is nice. Is the damp paper towel all that's needed to maintain humidity?

Also, a question: are slings separated when the 1i are close to molting(to prevent escapes) or when they reach 2i? So far I've gotten the impression that they're removed at 2i, but how would you keep them from escaping the incubator if this is the case?

 

[Poec54]

This one is nice. Is the damp paper towel all that's needed to maintain humidity?

Also, a question: are slings separated when the 1i are close to molting(to prevent escapes) or when they reach 2i? So far I've gotten the impression that they're removed at 2i, but how would you keep them from escaping the incubator if this is the case?

Moist papertowel is all you need for humidity in a deli cup with limited air flow. Done it many times. 1st instars are much easier to separate, they're slow and clumsy. 2nd instars are fast and scatter. They'll also start wandering off and escape thru airholes. It's up to you when you want to take them out of the female's cage.

 

[Stan Schultz]

WARNING: INCOMING, UNABASHED, SELF-SERVING SALES PITCH
If this sort of thing offends you, please move to the next post in this thread, or to the next thread.​

In both TKG2 and TKG3 reference is made to a Mechanical Mom style incubator. I have now posted the instructions on my website for free download.

This type of incubator is best suited for the aficionado who plans to do a lot of breeding and who wants nearly absolute control over environmental conditions because the incubator's construction is rather involved. These do work well, however, and I recommend them strongly.

END WARNING​

And, instructions are offered for a Nefcy style incubator in Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula. This style is better for the casual enthusiast who either is blessed with a surprise eggsac (see Legacie of Annie Rose by Carolyn Swagerle for an example), who is only breeding one or two times for the fun of it, or who for some reason is unwilling or unable to spend all the time, money and effort making a Mechanical Mom. I have never used a Nefcy Incubator, but all reports I've heard were quite positive.


_______________________________

DLS = The linear distance between the tip of one front leg to the tip of the rear leg on the opposite side when the tarantula is in a normal, resting position. Yes, it's very inaccurate. Yes, it's very unfair. But, we're not competing for gold medals or a new car. We're just trying to figure out how big your spider is.

"Mine's bigger than yours is! Neener, neener, neeee-ner!"

 

[AgeAye]

Pulled from the mom, 40 ewls so far. A third of the eggs look stuck together and bad, about 120 total. we will see what happens.

 

[AgeAye]

simple build. I kept a small fishtank heater under the bottom to warm the paper towels, causes a bit of condensation but all the ewls popped out at that time