Reptile & Amphibian Forums

can some one tell me how to build or make one?

Sure can! Made one a few years ago that cost a total of under $15.00. It keeps temps within a degree or so if you keep the room temperature stable.

First, go bug your local pet store and talk them out of one of the large styrofoam boxes that their tropical fish come in.

Either buy an undertank heater or find someone who got suckered into buying a heat rock before they knew any better and talk them out of it.

Go to Walmart or Home Depot and buy a digital thermometer with a probe for measuring both inside and outside temps, and a plug in lamp dimmer (the ones you plug into the wall outlet and then plug your lamp into.

Put the UTH or hot rock into the fish box. Plug the dimmer into the wall outlet and plug the uth or heat rock into the dimmer.

Make or buy a wire 'shelf' to set over the uth or rock, so the egg container is not in contact with the heat.

Put the probe for the thermometer into the styrofoam box on top of the egg box. (Do not put the probe inside the egg box!) Put the cover on and adjust the dimmer up or down until you get the temperature you want. Do this a few days to a week before you expect eggs, as it takes a while the first time to get the temp right.

I've hatched beardies and leos with this, and will use it for my corn eggs when I get some.

Leslie

My incubator for my very first clutch of rat snake eggs was a shelf in my bedroom closet. Worked just fine with the ambient temps in the room. No added heat source required. Ah, the good old days when things were simple!

>>can some one tell me how to build or make one?

It talks about getting an ice chest, put a fish tank heater on the (inside) bottom, bricks, fill with water to the top of bricks, put the eggs in a container with vermiculite or perilite(sp?)on a shelf on top of bricks or have the water a little lower and put the container on the bricks and then use a thermometer. I have yet to do this, but it sounds fine. Maybe someone who has used this method would be more help
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**********Misty**********
I try to take one day at a time but sometimes several days attack me at once!

Simplicity route. My first egg baker was a Rubbermaid shoebox with moist vermiculite and it sat on a shelf in my snakeroom which was kept mildly toasty. Thats it. I got a 12 out of 13 hatch rate. This will continue to be my method of baby-baking.
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

does your wife or girlfriend know thats your plan, do they make shoe boxes big enough for a person to fit in? sorry im new at this ha ha ha
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0.1.0 normal corn het hypo,anery
1.0.0 snow corn het hypo,anery,amel
1.0.0 amel corn unknown hets(4ft 8inch long)
1.0 sinacorn
0.0.2 snapping turtles
0.0.1 3 lined mud turtle
1.1 kenyan sand boas
0.1 mbk
0.1 albino nelsons

My idea I wanted to try, was to use a standard incubator, styro box type, or if you do home made, styro box heat tape and bio stat. The problem I see is keeping moisture up. I've used a cricket waterier to raise pin heads. Add soil to plastic tray, under the quart jar. It keeps eggs moist and babies climb off to a tank with chicken crumble.

But apply the jar idea to an incubator. A reservoir of water, used to keep soil/remic/perl/or your favorite home brew to even moisture.

I personally have not bred a ton of different types of herps. Ball pythons, Jax chams a few others. But I love to make stuff, especially new ideas.

I need to get something together something for my beardies, maybe I'll make a test unit??
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AOL IM Mettzilla
I forgot my password for herpzilla, and gave a bad email,, major OOPS

1.3 Bearded Dragons
6 baby female Western hognose, 3.5 adults some friend some mine,,,building breeding stock)
1 Corn snake (bloodred) 0.2 1 MIA In the house I hope
1 baby creamcycle 0.1
2 Okeettes I think? 1.1 youngens
ochrocephala oratrix 0.0.1? Adult, and a killer!
ochrocephala auropalliata 0.0.1? Adult
2.0 Dogs,
0.2 Cats,,
0.1 Wives, (Long term captive!,, I mean ME!)
1.1 Kids (Paininthearsius takamemonii) J/K great kids
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tom

www.herpzilla.com

go to this link if you plan on more than a couple of clutches at the same time. other wise it is probally a little to much but could probally help with some desogn ideas
http://www.kingsnake.com/salceies/Incubator.htm
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0.1.0 normal corn het hypo,anery
1.0.0 snow corn het hypo,anery,amel
1.0.0 amel corn unknown hets(4ft 8inch long)
1.0 sinacorn
0.0.2 snapping turtles
0.0.1 3 lined mud turtle
1.1 kenyan sand boas
0.1 mbk
0.1 albino nelsons

Here are a few links:

www.arbreptiles.com/cages/incubator.shtml

www.familyzoo.us/how_to_build_an_incubator.htm

forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1001870,1003181

I personally have done both the icechest/cooler incubator and the refrigerator style. They both have worked with great success. I have also used something as simple as a hovabator (with an external thermostat). It's just going to depend on how much you want to spend and how many clutches of eggs you will be incubating.

Hope that helps some. Good luck.

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Michael Rehker

Middle Tennessee Reptiles
Website Coming Soon!

"Which of us has not been stunned by the beauty of an animal's skin or its flexibility in motion?"
--Marianne Moore

For my corns I just loosely buried the eggs in moist sphagnum moss which was in a rubbermaid container with holes drilled around the edges. I kept it on a shelf in a room that stayed in the upper 70s. The shelf was up high so it was around 83 or so. It fluctuated some but no concern. I checked them about once a week. Never had to add water or anything. This is the only time I have bred snakes and I went by Kathy Loves book. It honestly went exactly as stated in the book. On the 60th day, babies. You live in NC right. Weather should be fine to almost just let them sit at room temps if you dont keep the house too cold. Good luck.

ep

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Occupants not paying rent:
1.1. balls
1.1 corns
1 everglades rat
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2.1 cats

>>For my corns I just loosely buried the eggs in moist sphagnum moss which was in a rubbermaid container with holes drilled around the edges. I kept it on a shelf in a room that stayed in the upper 70s. The shelf was up high so it was around 83 or so. It fluctuated some but no concern. I checked them about once a week. Never had to add water or anything. This is the only time I have bred snakes and I went by Kathy Loves book. It honestly went exactly as stated in the book. On the 60th day, babies. You live in NC right. Weather should be fine to almost just let them sit at room temps if you dont keep the house too cold. Good luck.
>>
>>ep
>>

a good trick is to place the box on top of a refrigerator or VCR.
Helps hold the temps a little more constant and close to 80 or so.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

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