Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone use flexwatt in their incubator? If so, how many feet of 11” flexwatt do you think I would need to heat a 20”x11”x11” cooler to 83* F? I was thinking one or two feet, but have four just to be safe… I will of course test beforehand, but want to get an estimate…
-Drew

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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 leusistic leopard gecko - Maximus
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, it's not a herp!) - Punky, Jeepers

2 feet should do you as long as you've got good insulation. If not I'd go with 3 and run it on the bottom, up the back, and a little across the top.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

Thanks... Of those three places where should I put the probe? Bottom I'm guessing?
-Drew
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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 leusistic leopard gecko - Maximus
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, it's not a herp!) - Punky, Jeepers

I'd put your probe half way up, put your water dishes over the flexwatt on the bottom.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

Sorry about all the questions, although I've kept reptiles for a long time, this is the first time I've decided to breed anything, (excluding the leopard geckos using a hovabator... Temps weren't accurate enough to hatch)

>>I'd put your probe half way up, put your water dishes over the flexwatt on the bottom.

Then where do the eggboxes go? I figured they would go on top of the flexwatt... Quick question I just thought of: do the eggboxes need holes like some people say, or is the ventilation they get when I open them to check humidity, candle eggs, etc. enough? And would I need water dishes if I kept each eggbox moist enough?

Again, sorry about all the questions
-Drew
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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 leusistic leopard gecko - Maximus
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, it's not a herp!) - Punky, Jeepers

Eggboxes would go on a shelf somewhere above the water containers. If you were to put them directly on the flexwatt itself I would think that the heat wouldn't be even enough. By heating the water dishes with the flex you'll create a nice even humid heat throughout the incubator. I'm building another one out of an old fridge right now, and I'm taking pics this time lol so that I can put a step by step guide up on my site. As for the holes, I drill about 5 holes in the top of the egg containers with a soldering iron, still be sure to open it up once a week though so that you get air exchange into the incubator itself. The water dishes also let you use far less vermic/perlite than you would have to use if you didn't have them.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

Thank you! I'm learning a lot really fast... Very complex stuff, but certainly worth it!
-Drew
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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 leusistic leopard gecko - Maximus
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, it's not a herp!) - Punky, Jeepers

>>2 feet should do you as long as you've got good insulation. If not I'd go with 3 and run it on the bottom, up the back, and a little across the top.

I have all four feet in, the themostat is set at 83.7* F, but the temps on the shelf which I've added only get to 82* F! I waited a day to see, but that is where they max out... Should I raise the temp on the themostat? Or maybe I should move the probe off the flexwatt and onto the eggshelf? Which is a better idea??? Thank goodness I have at least two weeks before the eggs are laid (I think...)
-Drew

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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 leusistic leopard gecko - Maximus
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, it's not a herp!) - Punky, Jeepers

I'd at least put the probe on the egg shelf if not put it in a dummy egg container prepared just like you would for the real thing.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

>>I'd at least put the probe on the egg shelf if not put it in a dummy egg container prepared just like you would for the real thing.

Oh okay... I heard somewhere that I was suposed to put the probe on the heat source... guess I was wrong!
-Drew

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Owned by:
1.2 bearded dragons - Legolas, Rosy, Miss Scarlet
0.1 Indonesian blue tongue skink - Sarah
1.0 leusistic leopard gecko - Maximus
1.0 reverse oketee corn snake - Bernard
1.0 ball python - Patrick
2.0 guinea pigs (I know, it's not a herp!) - Punky, Jeepers

I wouldn't say that you were wrong but probe placement plays a large part in how flexwatt works. I'm sure at the flexwatt it was whatever temp you had it set for but your eggs are several inches away from it so you have to adjust for that. It's the eggs you want at 83.5 (or whatever) not just the flexwatt.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps