Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The fridge incubator is very small like 3x3x4 what do I need to make this incubator and where do I get it from.
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thanks
Josh

1. Rip out all the guts of the fridge. You have to strip it down to a bare fridge wth bare walls. Everything else comes out.
2. Then get 2 strips of 4in. Flex Watt [heat-tape] and run them from the top to the bottom of the inside back of the fridge wall.
3. Then you find or purchase a 4in. 110 volt computer fan and mount it to the ceiling.
4. Now drill a 1/4in. hole in the back wall.
5. Run all your electrical wires from the flex watt and the fan thru that hole.
6. Now you have your Thermostat? what kind you purchase is your choice, we use Ranco. Your thermostat can either be mounted to your fridge outside wall on either side or just rest it on top of the frige.
7. Now drill another 1/4 in hole on either side wall, doesnt matter, or depending on if you mount your thermostat. Then run your probe from your thermo from the outside in. And just let it lay thru the hole, until you insert your shelving.
8. Now take the flex and fan wires and plug them into the thermo. Depending on your type of thermo, you may need to wire those wires in directly by hand.
9. Now that the inside of the fridge is ready and empty, go to Home Depot and grab wire shelving. Cut the shelves to fit the inside width and length of your fridge, and also make sure the shelves will fit which ever tub or sterlite you plan on using. The shelves should come with mounting brackets for you to mount them inside your incubator.
10. When you purchase your tubs or sterilite boxes, remember to drill holes for ventilation, preferably a few down each side and back and front. And keep the lid on your tub when incubating.
11.Pick up some Vermiculite or Pearllite Mixture for substrate. mix one part pearlite or vermiculate to 1 part water together by weight . so if you have 1lb. of mix then you would mix equally 1 lb. of water. And depending on the size and type of eggs is how much you put in the tub. I honestly am not sure. Depends on tub size, clutch size.etc.
12. Place the eggs on top of the mixture inside the tub, do not cover eggs with mixture. Replace lid, close the fridge door.......and Good Luck!
Link

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Abby L.
3.28.0 Balls
Lemons, Spider, Normals,Genetic Stripe
1.1 Borneo Short Tail
0.7 Sumatran Red bloods
AIM abster1231

why dont you use an ice chest instead of a fridge?

also, be sure to add several water bottles to hold heat in. this way when you open your incubator, you will still have stored heat energy in the water.
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0.1 CB '05 Ball Python
Chlorhexidine

isn't that the insolation to keep heat in.
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thanks
Josh

Dont rip out the interior guts or the plastic walls. Just remove the compressor, radiator, wiring, etc.... all of the useless appendages. This is only to cut down on the weight of the unit, you dont have to rip it apart at all if you dont want, I just do it to lighten the load.
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Sam Craver
Cage Crafters and The Blood Bank

fridge or freezers would make a good incubator......

but too heavy and too bulky......

?......maybe just as good and easy to make a 1/2 inch plywood box with shelves in it and line the entire box inside and out with sheets of styrofoam?.

they make 3/4 inch or 1 inch sheets and thick stuff like 2 inches .......would work as well.........and be cheap and light enough to sell,move or give away.....

?
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Plywood with shelves, and styrofoam??? Wouldn't that would be a HUGE fire Hazard?

how hot do you incubate?

Hova-Bators are styrofoam........

and I set it at 89......

......if all wires are covered and all is set correctly......

should work....

?......
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Stripped out fridges don't weigh very much, it's all the stuff you don't need that add the weight. I think the plywood would make it pretty heavy. If you could figure a way to make one with, say aluminum channel and styrofoam, that would make a nice lightweight incubator.

Cheryl

I was thinking again.,........

use all 2 inch styrofoam ....period.......even just duct tape it all together.........?...........

nails for pins?........

nails to hold shelves in place.........hmm..........big nails..........

anything will work........all you need is 89 degrees ...

good luck......

now I gotta make one ......soon too.......wow..........
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how about a cooler? easy to move and very well insulated.

if they need cooler sized use hova-bators......

.......they hold 4 to 6 clutches depending on how big they are(clutches........6 or 12)....

.......I use 2 and holds 4 each (8 to 12 ea) and by the time the first ones hatch I got more for the holes left in them and usually fill part of them up a second time.....
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