Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello friends. Yesterday night on an uneducated whim, I purchased an incubator. I plan on incubating python eggs, such as bloods, balls, white lips, Gtp's, and maybe a few others along the same lines. I paid $120 for the incubator (Precision Economy Incubator model 2EG) and in my opinion it is a very good incubator. It uses gravity convection as it’s method of heat transfer. The manual says, “gravity convection is defined as the natural tendency for heated air to rise due to it’s changing density”. Is this method of heat transfer going to be alright for python eggs?

The air is drawn in from the bottom and passes along heated coils, which heat the air. A small amount of heated air is exhausted out of the top of the chamber through a vent shutter cap and the remaining air recirculates in the chamber. I want to know if this is a good method for incubating python eggs. Since the heat starts at the bottom, does that mean a clutch of eggs on the top shelf will get a cooler temp than the eggs on the bottom shelf (which is closer to the heating coils)? In the dead middle of the incubator I was able to attain 90 degrees Fahrenheit constantly. I feel that this is a good incubator but would like opinions as to whether or not you feel it is sufficient for python eggs. As to the shutter on top- would you recommend I keep that closed or open during incubation? Or halfway open? Opinions are needed!

Another question I have is the temperature control. The manual says the temperature control is hydraulic. Does this mean anything to eggs incubating inside? I get the feeling that this incubator was made for cells and liquids, but it can attain a very hot 150 degrees (F).

The shelf dimensions are 13.5” X 12.5” (343mm X 318mm). If I have two of these shelves, would it be sufficient to incubate two average clutches of blood python eggs? Or is this going to be too small. Feel free to chime in with any opinion or ideas!

The incubator has two doors; a glass one and a main insulator door. The photographs displayed are not mine. The model in the photograph is not the 2EG, but instead is the 4EG. Cant find any 2EG photos. The 4EG is exactly the same, only half the size. Thanks in advance for the replies.

Best,
Enneagram

BTW- the incubaor I picked up is *much* cleaner and more well-taken care of. I also purchased a lab coat for 6 bucks! I feel smarter already...

that inc should be perfect! but you might want to put a plexi door inside the outer door so you can open it, and look at the eggs without changing the hear inside the inner chamber. you can do this easily and is pretty cheap. also, when you do a temp check, and when you later use the incubator for real, you want the humidity inside to be pretty high , it will inprove temperature stability and evenness inside the the inc and also inproves the humidity in the inner inner chamber(and egg box or whatever you use to contain the eggs, should be almost sealed to balance humidity). good luck. also make sure you sterilize that thing before you use it, i work in a lab and i know what goes in those things usually, not good stuff.
-doug

oh, i didnt see that glass door, youre all good then.

I used Precision incubators like the one in your photo for years in the lab where I worked in the 80's and early 90's. We used them mostly for incubating bacteria cultures. They are very accurate at holding a set temperature but are not designed to keep humidity in anywhere near the range required to incubate reptile eggs. The cultures were in small sealed petri dishes, so humidity was not a concern. You will need to have a sealed inner container of some type for the eggs or they will most likely desiccate rather rapidly. Gravity convection heating in an incubator design of this type dries the interior air very efficiently. Hydraulic temp. control is simply how the thermostat operates. The shutter or air flow control on top is used to control the rate of exhaust air and needs to be adjusted according to the temperature setting, more open if the temperature setting is higher. It could possibly work with some modifications. Before incubating any eggs, I would definitely check the temps at several points in the egg containers on each shelf to determine if their is any variation in temperature at different points. Be sure to check the humidity the same way. Good luck and let us know how it works.

Kelly

What a great find! Humidity shouldn't be too hard to maintain as you said yours was half the size of the one in the pic. You could try sealing the walls with some sort of contact. This would help with holding in humidity, and with the inner hygene... and definately ensure the glass door is sealed with some sort of rubber. I would suggest setting the inside up in the exact same way that you plan on with your eggs, right down to measuring the amount of water you put in and when. Possibly buy a max/min hygrometer to record humitidy points throughout the day/night, and just play around with how much water you put in, and what size containers. Remember - the more surface area of water you get, the more humidity you'll get. But then again, with your new labcoat, you should already know that