I've ordered one for my Uromastyx colony. however... I've never even hatched a chicken! This need was not anticipated... 'til '05. If anyone has some first-hand knowledge I would greatly any advice!
Thanks & Happy Herp'n
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JDBlackdog
2.1 MALI
1.1 YELLOW GEYRI
0.2 SOMOLIAN
1.1 ORNATE
0.1 ROTTWEILER
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Hova-bator? user freindly? Good..bad.....
JDBLACKDOG
Jan 30, 2004 09:27 PM
Replies (3)
brad wilson
Feb 02, 2004 03:11 PM
My son and I have used one to hatch one russian tortoise
and several each of leopard geckos, day geckos, and knight anoles.
1) Get a digital thermometer with a probe. The little glass thermometer that comes with it isn't easy to view. And you can reduce the number of times you open the incubator by having an external read out.
2) I think the instructions tell you to pour water into the bottom of the incubator. I think it's better to add a small dish of water. Otherwise the bottom can get messy.
3) Set it up a few days before you need it. It takes awhile to get the temp just right (the method of adjustment is kind of crude) and then it takes awhile to stabilize. Let the incubator go for a couple hours before making adjustments.
4) Set the incubator up in an area with stable temperatures. Not buy the door or window, or next to a vent, etc.
The above applies to the bottom of the line hovabator I got. It had a small plastic window in the top, a cheap thermometer, and no fans. I've heard that the model with fans will dry out the eggs.
JDBLACKDOG
Feb 02, 2004 03:51 PM
Thanks .. excellent info! It may take some of my "worry" out of the equation! Will the humidity stay constant over the 60-90 days? Or does it need to be replenished with water occasionaly? One more ... how's the instuction manual? Pretty detailed?
Thanks again for your imput.
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JDBlackdog
2.1 MALI
1.1 YELLOW GEYRI
0.2 SOMOLIAN
1.1 ORNATE
0.1 ROTTWEILER
brad wilson
Feb 03, 2004 03:05 PM
I just added water to the dish every few days. Clean it out once in awhile too.
I also placed the eggs on moistened vermiculite, which helped maintain the humidity. It might be wise to get a humidity gauge.
Humidity needs vary among species, and it isn't easy to guess at it.
The instructions seemed OK from what I remember. Haven't looked at them for a couple years.
