Anyone use this Incubator?

[The Juice]

I found some eggs this morning while cleaning out my Leo Cage and I went to the local Farm supply store to find a Hovabator but all they had was a brand called the "Little Giant Still Air Incubator" Model 9200. I bought it but before I use it I wanted to know if anyone else has used this and if they had any luck with this brand? They also had one with a Forced Air Fan would this one be better?

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

I used the same brand for my Leo eggs, it'll do the trick. The only problem I had was with temp. fluctuations during extreme heat, or extreme cold (im in Texas, yeah right). But you should do fine with that, just keep an eye on the temps.
Dont use the fan, still air is the best. You probably know this...but dont rotate the eggs, and be sure to use the right mixture of water/ perlite/vermiculite. I used perlite and water..I didnt measure anything, I just moisted it just enough, not too damp.

I think there is an accurate measurement here at http://www.albeysreptiles.com/incubate-eggs.htm

 

[The Juice]

Well I'm going to go a head and open it up and get setup.

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

good idea. Get the temperature just right ahead of time. Turn the knob all the way up, and slowly decrease it once it is at Max heat. If you want a good thermometer, I got mine at Radio Shack for $15 (I think) and it is awesome! The one that comes with the hovabator is OK, but I prefer the digital.

 

[The Juice]

I might go check out Radio Shack but I don't care if I get Male or Female. This is my first time and I will be happy if one of the eggs hatch.

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

yeah, but you'll do better if you can measure the temps accurately.
Expect some duds, it happens occasionally. Keep the eggs from getting too moist, or too dry, and you should do fine. You can candle them by putting a small flashlight up to them...and you should see veins if they are fertile shaped in a circle, and in the middle you can see the actual heartbeat. Although most people ive told to do this never see it, lol. Ive seen it every time.

Good luck!

 

[OldHag]

I SAW IT!! I saw the heart beat this time round Believe her! its true! I thought she was full of it at first...but at about 4-5 days after theyre layed you can seriously see the heart beating!

Did anyone tell you...incubate them at 85 if you dont care what sex they will be. Im going for females this year..they sell better .

 

[The Juice]

I SAW IT!! I saw the heart beat this time round Believe her! its true! I thought she was full of it at first...but at about 4-5 days after theyre layed you can seriously see the heart beating!

Did anyone tell you...incubate them at 85 if you dont care what sex they will be. Im going for females this year..they sell better .

Yeah I knew about the 85 thing but I kinda want to make sure I get a Male out of the 4 eggs so maybe 87?

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

Ive gotten females at 88 Can't always be sure. But id say 87 would be just fine for males. Ive never heard someone say they wanted all males, lol.

Edit: oh, you could go mid 80's to try for a mix. I'd go about 84-85 if you want to try for both sexes. (as Oldhag stated)

Oldhag, you can see the heartbeat even after it has just been laid, it's neat..isnt it After a few weeks the baby will grow in size, and the heartbeat will be less visible. I can't really remember how long I could see mine for. But I rarely had a problem telling if an egg was fertile or not from the beginning, although some did pass away after a few weeks, and it was hard to tell once the heartbeat wasnt visible.

 

[The Juice]

This is a Pic of My eggs. Do they look OK? I don't teally want all males but I would like one.

 

[WhyTeDraGon]

They look like regular eggs from the pic, but I can't say if they are fertile or not. You could candle them, or you could just wait That seems to be the only option. I can't say that they'll mold or dent if they are infertile, as OldHag and I have both witnessed....they dont always do that. I believe she had some go past due for months being unfertile, and they looked perfectly healthy! But that's her luck :}

Oh, also...dont ventilate the cup. If your temps are right, and it's not too damp in the cup, they should be fine. Just open the cup once a week for about a minute or so to allow a little air flow. That is all I had to do. The airholes tend to make the temps fluctuate alot, or so ive observed. There are people who do it successfully, but im not sure how.

 

[The Juice]

The eggs are in a Deli cup that is pre-punched, I also put a container of water in the incubator for humidity. I got them cooking at 85degress but I'm not sure if that will matter since I think a couple of them where in the LayBox for awhile but they where warm when I got them out, also I didn't have a incubator so I put in the Deli cup and sat them onto of a Human heatpad (Highest level) with no cover on the heatpad for about 45min- an hour until I got my Incubator.

 

[The Juice]

I 2 Of My Eggs Are Bad??

2 of my eggs are getting Dark does this mean they are Bad? Here is a Pic of what they look like now.