Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I built a new incubator for this season. I lost a very important clutch last year and suspect temp fluctuations was the cause. I double insulated with sheet insulation and it should hold 14 clutches with extra room. I was hoping to get opinions on the location of the heat source. Last year I ran it down the back and believe the rear of the egg containers close to the heat tape was slightly warmer. I was considering putting the heat tape on the very bottom with the fan located in the very top blowing down since heat rises. The incubator is 24in wide 24 in deep and 48 in tall. I will post pics soon!

>>I built a new incubator for this season. I lost a very important clutch last year and suspect temp fluctuations was the cause. I double insulated with sheet insulation and it should hold 14 clutches with extra room. I was hoping to get opinions on the location of the heat source. Last year I ran it down the back and believe the rear of the egg containers close to the heat tape was slightly warmer. I was considering putting the heat tape on the very bottom with the fan located in the very top blowing down since heat rises. The incubator is 24in wide 24 in deep and 48 in tall. I will post pics soon!

That's how i have mine set...Fan blowing down in the front..I also have a fan at the bottom to blow over the heat towards the back.Then the heat just rises up the back of it.
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Charles Glaspie

14 clutches in one incubator - wow! I know there are most likely plenty of people out there that have incubators this large, but I still find it impressive.

What are you using for egg boxes? What kind of temperature variance is there between the boxes?

The biggest reason for the fans is to mix the air so that you reduce hot and cold spots within the incubator. Without seeing your incubator it would be difficult to determine the best place for your heating element.

Just make sure that you can remove your heat pad/tape easily (at least at first) - same goes for the fans. This way you are not committing yourself to any configuration until you have worked out all of the kinks.

Another tip: Try to reduce the amount of open space within the incubator as much as possible. Water bottles or bricks are good for this. They will add thermal mass which will reduce fluctuations in the temperature when you have to open the incubator. It will also allow the incubator to reach it's desired temperature (recover) quicker after it is opened.

I'm anxious to see pics of your incubator. If you have plans, please email them to me, I'd really appreciate it.

Here is an updated pic of mine. I have 2 ceramic heat emiters on the bottom that i can use one or both of and the fan on the level above them blowing up. The water bottles fill the bottom around the heating elements(not to close). Still lots of open space as i only have one clutch in there right now but i can add and remove lots more water bottles.

nice!
I wish I could have found a case like that at a bargain,
Very cool to be able to see them all the time!!!!!!
Have you hatched out any clutches with the ceramic emitters?
I was considering using one but was worried they heat too fast ?
I really like the setup!!!!!

Thanks! I love it! Im one for one so far. Im on day 49 with the eggs you see in the pic and they are doing awesome! I know a couple other people that have a similar setup with the heat emiters and they work fine as long as you have a fan.

Thanks for the tip !
Ill play around with the heat emitter a bit. Im going to have to change the heat source to adjust for the larger incubator. I was just concerned because I know these emitters can have a surface temp of 300 plus degrees. I may lay in a aluminum bottom panel for safety. thanks again!

Yea they can get super hot. The bottom of my incubator is metal so it worked out nicely. The only problem was when plugging in the fixture that holds the heater the screws touched the metal bottom and blew the curcuit breaker so we added a thin mat of hard rubber between them.

Im still tweeking it , Im using 6qt tubs for now. I used them last season with clutches up to 6 eggs. Thanks for the tip on using bricks , I was thinking of using something as a heat sink and think the bricks would work great. I should have taken pics through the building process. Once Im done ill try to give the basics. Basically I built it out of 1/2 plywood but insulated it to the max. I also built a false 3 in insulated wall in the front so I can open the door and lose no heat until it is tipped forward. I will be able to peek in without total loss of temp.I used angle flashing around the frame to give the sealing foam a flat smooth surface. I will post pics soon, Im having my wife paint a logo on the door.

this is a homemade incubator 24"wide x24" deep x48" tall. I put it together about 7 years ago. I don't work with ball pythons but it has hosted a number of colubrid species. It might out live me.

I have a strip of 3" flexwatt running around the inner circumfrence of the unit and 1/2" insulation. I found a fan unnecessary. I use a thermostat and a radio shack digital thermometer to keep an eye on things. In the past with a lot of eggs I have stacked the back of each shelf with bottles of water to help maintain temps after I open/close the incubator. I don't now if anyone else does this but I get this sucker fired up and steady ----before---- I need to put eggs in there. So if something is not good I have a chance to fix it.

Some good incubation references:

incubation of reptile eggs by Gunther Kohler. Krieger Publishing.
ISBN#1-57524-193-5

reptilian incubation-environment, evolution and behavior. D.C. Deeming, editor. Nottingham University Press. ISBN#1-897676-11-5

There is no pic in your post of the incubator. And i think everyone gets there incubator ready prior to eggs arriving unless they are not expecting eggs.

um, here is the pic. I had postus interruptus, my bad.

thanks for the references and the photo.
Looks like my insulation job will hold up fine. I used 2 inches all the way around and a 2 in primary door with a 2 in secondary door with foam seals. I like your shelf setup!
I made some 2x2 frames with 1/4 wire attached.