Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, I recently designed and built an incubator using suggestions from many people that I have come across on the web. I was hoping that you would review it and offer any comments or suggestions. Thanks, Dan Scalf
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Very nice job.

I have lots of species with different temp requirements so I use multiple styrofoam boxes - essentially miniature versions of yours

I wonder how much heat you loose through the plexiglass

Very nice. I was wondering if you could just use the heat pad on the bottom (heat rises) and set a stainless tub of water to provide humidity to the entire chamber? The fans would circulate the warm moist air to even temps from top to bottom, I would think. There are some fans made for marine engine rooms that might be better suited to a really humid environment, with protected motor, bearings and all that, but those Radio Shack fans are probably cheap enough to just replace when they start making noise. I like the idea of two in case one fries. Not sure about the heat against the Styrofoam, if that will do a slow melt over time, and release some formaldyhide or whatever. I guess in theory it won’t be hotter than the air in the chamber anyway. I also like the idea of painting over the Styrofoam to seal it a bit. Appreciate the effort you put in to sharing it with us. Good luck.

I've done the flexwatt on styro for years and never had a problem. granted I've always used a thermostat...

>>I've done the flexwatt on styro for years and never had a problem. granted I've always used a thermostat...

I did too, but Chris Harper scared me when he posted on the low ignition point of styro. So, I tried Reflectix, and I agree that Reflectix, while safer, does an even better job of radiating the heat outward farther, rather than it just going up along the wall.

Those cheap car windshield sun shields are made of reflectix. I happened to buy a few on sale and cut them up.
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Mark

Overall I think this will be an effective incubator but do want to offer a few suggestions, primarily dealing with safety and efficiency.

1) The rabbet joint you have for what appears to be the bottom of the structure will probably not hold up for long. The best way to do this is to put a dado up at least an inch or so and have the bottom sit in the groove. If that is the bottom I would cut another panel for the whole thing to sit on. I may have looked at the pictures wrong, however.

2) A foil faced insulation board would have been a much more safe and efficient choice, although even foil faced insulation needs a fire retardant barrier.

3) If painting regular foam board you should REALLY mix in a fire retardant.

4) Add some thermal mass. The more the better.

5) The melamine carcass is not really necessary. Europeans build incubators and even larger cages from styrofoam panels joined with glue and bamboo skewers. The only wood, if any, is a plywood base. You would only need minimal wood to hold the shelves. But melamine is cheap and would act as a fire barrier for the outside so not really a bit deal.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.