Incubator help

[skinheaddave]

I am basically capable of everything provided it can adjust to my schedule. This is why I can't keep a dog (what eats EVERY day? ) but can keep so many other animals.

So if I'm going to breed some reptiles (have a few immature sexed pairs of snakes and may be getting some lizards in short order) what is the best way to make an incubator that will basically take care of itself pretty well?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Lasiodora]

For starters you'll need a proportional thermostsat. These control heating devices in increments. It doesn't turn on or off your heating device to adjust temps. It increases or decreases the input of power to control temps. Very important because you don't want to expose eggs to temp extremes. Big apple herp makes a good one. I've seen somepeople using coolers as the incubaters. I'm not sure how they fixed them up though. Maybe someone here knows more about it.
Mike

 

[scorpio]

You can make incubators out of a styrofoam cooler for under $20, but chances are, they wont be nearly as good as something that big apple herp would sell. You can get a very nice incubator that on top of being morre reliable, will also look more attractive then a styrofoam cooler, for under $75. Id just go the easy way and buy one from a manufacturer. I almost bought one a few years ago when I planned to breed some corns, but my female died a few months after hibernation so it didnt go through. Good luck with breeding.

 

[Phillip]

A very cheap and effective incubator can be made with a styro cooler or a 10 gallon fish tank. With either you can simply add water to the bottom drop in a submersible aquarium heater, heat the water to the desired temp, then place a sterilite containing the eggs in the water. This way the temp is easy to maintain and the eggs get all the humidity they need without actually contacting the water. For colubrid eggs you wont need this however as they will hatch just fine at room temps in the high 70s low 80s. This does of course depend on your definition of room temp so if you're a cold junkie you will have to make an incubator regardless.

Phil

 

[skinheaddave]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Turns out it is something of a non-issue as one of my friends said I could just use his anytime I get eggs. I may still make one so that I can keep a better eye on it, but if not I at least have one available to me.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Lasiodora]

I was talking about rubbermaid cooler, not styrofoam. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: http://www.hatchchondro.com/ If made properly they can be extremely reliable. I'm going to try to build my own in a year or two.
Mike

 

[Phillip]

They are very nice but I tend to lean towards the way cheaper and just as effective end.

Phil

 

[Lasiodora]

Phil,
The site is meant as a pic of what you could try to build. I wouldn't drop that much money either.
Mike

 

[Phillip]

Yeah those are really nice ones. Granted they could be built just a nice for way less but great looking nonetheless.

Phil