Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Thanks everyone for your reassurance about my (well, Cher's) eggs. I'm curious as to what other folks are using for incubators. I got my design from the website linked below. It's pretty simple, just a plastic box held up by two bricks inside a small aquarium with an aquarium heater and a couple of thermometers. The aquarium is actually one that I used for Cher when she was a hatchling, which had been sitting unused since I moved her into a bigger cage. The plastic box is an old feeding/carrying container that has also been sitting unused since the gaigeae outgrew it. The plexiglas cover was left over from when I kept treefrogs, and bricks can be found pretty much anywhere. The only things I actually had to go out and buy were the aquarium heater and the digital thermometer.

Not only is it cheap to put together, but the design has technical merits, as well. Water has a high specific heat, meaning it takes a lot of energy to change its temperature. This protects the eggs from any sudden temperature changes. It also keeps the humidity high, and acts as a moat to keep out ants and other crawling pests.

I noticed that just before I uploaded the picture, kingsnaken had uploaded a picture of a nearly identical one, so I imaging this is probably a pretty popular design for beginners who aren't springing for Hovabators. What else are folks using for incubators?

Nate

Building an Incubator

They are very cheap. 10$ for the tank and 15$ for the heater. I used a styrofoam cooler lid for my top. I had to do this at the last minute because I thought my corn wasn't gravid. She never appeared to be gravid because she never fattened up like I thought. I picked her up Saturday night, and I felt the lumps, so at that point I knew I would need an incubator quick after she had just shed. I did not have time to order a high quality incubator, but this year I only have a few eggs. The incubator I made really holds temps well. Only time will tell how it works out, but so far it is working great. Derek

Found 2 of these in the trash. One for colubrids, and pythons. Hovabator cover, air circulated, used in one; UTH in the other. Both with a digital thermostat.

Mike

In the trash!?!??? Where do you go garbage pickin' at, and can I come with next time?

Quig