Quick Bator question

[anendeloflorien]

Hey guys, I think I may have asked this previously on here but I'm not quite sure lol. Does anyone out there use hovabators still? I've got one girl that I'm thinking will lay this year. I've got her and her mate cooling right now (tried breeding without cooling and got NOWHERE lol) she's an 03 1600g+ (she's been a small girl her whole life still a great eater) proven breeder so I'm 99% sure she'll go this year.

I've played with the idea of getting a hovabator and with the Reptile Radio 10% off discount at big apple herp I'm thinking I'll try and get one soon rather than convert the fridge in my garage for one clutch especially since unless we get some more big girls or some manage to get up to size fast we'll only have 2-3 next year which I believe would fit in a hovabator fine right? Which version of hovabator should I get? I was under the impression that the "Thermal Air Flow" model is ideal.

Also does anyone use the Big Apple BAH-1000SC t-stat for bators? I've got a couple extra Rancos that I could use but I heard that the on/off type is usually not good to use for incubators.

Sorry for all the questions guys this is my first breeding season and I want to make sure I get it right!

[PythonWallace]

I've never used a hova, but I've gotten emails from people who bought them and used them in previous years and said they were crap and they lost clutches. I've also never used the BAH thermostats, but have heard that they tend to get huge temp spikes and blast the heat. I would personally make a nice incubator with good insulation and use the Ranco. When you think about how valueble even a single clutch of eggs is, then realize that you will have your incubator forever, it's really worth doing it right the first time. Now, if you are just getting a clutch of normals and don't plan to do much more than that, you can get a hova and you might be okay, but If you do mind taking risks on your way to hatching out snakes, than I'd go with a more dependable method.

[Cheryl Marchek aka JM]

I've used hovabators for BP and Corn eggs. I don't prefer them~ but I've used them. You don't want the thermal air for reptile eggs~ you want the still air. The heat on the havabator is an on/off not a proportional.

If your going to use a havabator and you have another Therm go ahead and daisy chain it for safety sake. Set up the bator and adjust it to the temp you want and let it calibrate for a week or so~ then plug it into a therm set to the max temp your willing to have and put the probe for the therm in the egg box~ that way if the bator heats too hot the therm you daisy chained too will shut it off. I use my havabotors for poultry now (Daisy chained to a therm) ~ but I bought them originally for reptiles and they did the job.

[anendeloflorien]

I've never used a hova, but I've gotten emails from people who bought them and used them in previous years and said they were crap and they lost clutches. I've also never used the BAH thermostats, but have heard that they tend to get huge temp spikes and blast the heat. I would personally make a nice incubator with good insulation and use the Ranco. When you think about how valueble even a single clutch of eggs is, then realize that you will have your incubator forever, it's really worth doing it right the first time. Now, if you are just getting a clutch of normals and don't plan to do much more than that, you can get a hova and you might be okay, but If you do mind taking risks on your way to hatching out snakes, than I'd go with a more dependable method.

Ok cool, good to know. I'll probably get to work on my little DIY incubator soon. Hopefully I can get it up and tested soon. I'm thinking (don't know if this is going to work or not but) of taking basically the whole front of the door and cutting it out and replacing it with thick insulated plexi to allow some viewing and to make it easier to monitor temps without opening the door. I've got some extra 4" flexwatt kicking around so I'll probably use that to heat it.

And IMO any clutch of eggs is a valuable thing. I mean this is only going to be pastel X normal but I'm really hoping to have a good sized clutch and healthy babies and I know that proper incubation is key to that. I've played with the idea of maternal incubation also and I've done some research on it but I don't think I'd go with that just because of the extra stress on the mother and how incredibly precise you have to be in an environment that makes it difficult to be precise.

[hondo1967]

just add a helix tstat to the hovabator and it will work fine, i tested one for 2 months and the temp stayed great 89 degrees and really never moved.

[Brandon Osborne]

Check your local Co-op or farm supply stores. They may have them as much as $20 cheaper. You want the thermal flow and not the turbo. I've hatched HUNDREDS of burms, balls, indians, macklots, bloods, and even chondros in these. They work great, but as recommended, you should ad a backup thermostat. Something cheap will work fine.

Good luck.

[Darkice]

I have a hovabator for my gecko eggs but i dont really like it. Even though it turns off and on the temps remain constant because i use a huge egg tub. What i dont like about it is its small. I need more room.
Anyone have instructions on how to make an incubaitor out of a giant styrofoam cooler?