Reptile & Amphibian Forums

all the commercial incubators i have seen are over $200, and i really dont have that kind of money to spend, are there any alteritives?
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

You don't need an incubator. Really! A warm room will work. If you want to control temps you can make your own incubator out of a styrofoam box, a light bulb and a thermostat (and that's just one recipe!).

There is a lot of info on the net (and in this forum) about this. You have plenty of time to find it before you need it. Do a google search or search the forums here.

One step at a time, Grasshopper.

Buy another snake before you worry about incubation.

Enjoy!

yes i know that i have much time to do this, to tell you the truth, im not even totally sure if i want to breed kings, rosies, garters, browns, lol, i have a long way to go! but when it comes to animals i like to be prepared for what im doing, and the only suprises i want are ones that are good or funny, not bad and confusing lol
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

I agree that you probably don't need an incubator for kingsnake eggs but you may if you decide to breed pythons or certain lizards that require a higher incubation temp.

Hovabators are damn good for the price ($35-40). I've had a lot of success with them with a variety of snakes and lizards.
Good luck,
Chris

The Hovabator may also give you the confidence factor that will save you from messing with your first precious clutch of eggs. I still inspect my clutches more than once a week but you can drive yourself nuts wondering if things are ok. Too cold, too wet, too hot etc. Set up your egg box a week or so ahead of time, put it in your incubator and after the eggs are inside leave it alone as best you can. I have hatched dozens of eggs in a hovabator, I have a much larger incubator now but I kept my Hovabator for a backup....it is a great little thingy. Tom Stevens

thanks for the tips you guys, i will definately give those hovabators a look, lol, i think its funny that i wont even be buying a male till 06 or 07, depending on how my female grows at least. but ya, i think i got my bearings strait, but i have a question. i really dont wanna mess things up with my kingsnakes, which is what ive been talking about all along. but i heard that northern brown snakes, other than being delicate, require almost no care, and breed live and easily, so i would try them either later this year, or next year. but doing this would only be so i could kind of get the hang of things with a small easy snake before i move on to my brooks. mabey its a little stupid, but i dont want to make any mistakes when im breeding my kings. and im still worried about cannabalism, but mabey ill get over it soon. thanks again, jake
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

By a year or two, just by keeping your snake (and raising up a male if you get him young)and researching at your current rate of speed, I'm sure you'll have enough experience to breed them by then.
I'm not sure of this, but in theory, if they are comfortable being handled and with your presence, I don't see any reason why you couldn't place one in the others cage for a few hours at a time and read a book or something close by so you can intervene if something goes wrong. And remove the visiting snake when you can no longer supervise.
Two small tips, to persuade a biting and holding on snake that the item they're chomping isn't food, a taste of normal vinegar from a spritz bottle does wonders. It's safer than alcohol and if set up in advance, more convenient than water. And also, get your female brooksi the nicest male you can find, good markings, good feeding response, docile with humans and so forth. Good snakes make for good snake babies and there's an unfortunate surplus of so-so cb critters.
Good luck!
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

ya, i have heard about he vineger and other things as well, but now i just remembered my main question. how in the world do you keep a reptile cage a 55F during the winter to brumate it when i live in GA!?!?!? and no, i wont make my whole room cold, i live in there lol
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

though i think i should be ok in a year or two, let me fillyou in lol. im the kind of guy that isnt a nerd or anything, but i hate being suprised unless its a good one, and i no its coming! i want to have as much knowledge about breeding as an expert would before i even hibernate the two, though i do realize that a lot of it is in experience, not forums and books. plus, i do think that brown snakes are pretty cool, and i might give a few of them to that canciellman02 guy, or somthing like that, since he said that he is very interested in them. or i might even find a friend, and give them to him, i just want to have my bearings strait before i go into this, unprepared.........my snake has become my life, so losing her would kill me...........
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

u said 35 to 40 dollars but the lowest i have seen was like, $55, man, this is hard lol
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

o ya, i take it that these "Hovabators" keep knats, maggots, and other junk away from the eggs, since you guys say that they are so good.
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol

i built this based on the plans at john hollister's web site. alot less than $200 and much more satisfying
daveb

thats a little big for me though, from the previous posts, the hovabator sounds like the best bet
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i have one Brooks Kingsnake, hopefully breeding in the next couple of years! yaaahhhh, only if i can find a male though lol, but im still looking for a male lol