Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a extra hatchling rack.. My question is if I use 6qt tubs with no holes in them can I use the rack as a incubator it is hooked to a thermostat and is wired with flexwatt already?? The rack in mind is homemade and was made with very tight fitting bins for hatchling colubrids so there is very little if any airflow. Give me your thoughts?
Jbugg

I would be concerned with possible hot spots, depending on the heat tape you're using. I would test the rack as an incubator before you get eggs and see if the temps and humidity are adequate.

Well as far as humidity goes I don't see why it would be any different then a tupperware in a hovabator.. The Tub will be sealed. The rack in mind uses back heat so my plan was to move the sensor from the thermostat into the back of the tub I plan on useing so the highest temperature on the hotside of the 6qt bin would be 89 I don't think there varient in that small of a bin would change very much. Any thoughts?
Jbugg

I wouldnt do it. I have a few racks that all have back heat... the temp gradient is obviously warmer towards the back. your best bet is to: 1) buy a cooler, add heat tape, and a reliable thermostat or
2) put an ad on craigslist asking for a free refrigerator (or buy a used one really cheap)... you can either add heat tape, flood lamp, or a heat cable to a thermostat......and BAM... you got your self a incubator that you could use for multi clutches.

YOU CAN GOOGLE THE CORRECT WAY TO INSTALL YOUR INCUBATOR... I WAS JUST GIVING YOU A VERY GENERAL WAY TO DO IT!!!

with 100% success. use a lot of medium, so that the heat from the hot spot gets more diffused and evenly spread out, and use plastic egg crate as well to further help diffuse... an added benefit with egg crate is you can have a higher humidity without eggs contacting moisture... and you'll still need to cover the top to hold moisture or it'll dry out and become unstable. plexiglass sheets work well. saran wrap will warp down and throw moisture onto your eggs and screw them up.

this is why an adult rack works better, plus a hatchling rack is too small for decent size clutches. but for small clutches, it does work - IF done right.

but TEST first. set it up and let it sit for a few days to get everything evened out and into its normal state - then put little sealed water bags (these are your test eggs) exactly where you plan to place the real eggs. you must use an outside thermometer probe in these cases (on every clutch), stuck smack in the middle of the clutch cranny to register and watch that it stays at 89%. its ok if the egg closest tothe front is 88 and the one towards the back is 90 - but use a good qua;ity temp gun to check on them once in awhile to make sure there is not too big a spread on your temps.

you can see this way is more work and worry than one good big incubator with constant even temps throughout. but these racks work in a pinch. but you must be vigilant.