Need help deciding what to do

Murphy's law just loves to apply to my life. :rolleyes:

I posted a while ago that I am losing my job. As of tomorrow afternoon I am officially out of work. I have a few interviews coming up but no job offers yet. That leaves me in a bit of a pickle. When I originally started pairing my snakes my plan was to build an incubator after I got my first ovulation. Now that money is tight I was waiting until I got a job offer. My problem is one of my females is due to lay right around May 6th.

Would I be better off looking into maternal incubation or is it possible to get an incubator setup on an extreme budget?

How extreme?

At least under 200, preferably under 150.


Edit:
I also have 3 other females that have been locking, but have shown no signs of building. I have decided to stop pairing them until the fall to give my males a break.

Check out the DIY section for plans to build an incubator out of a large cooler (Igloo-style). If you don't have the thermostat yet, I'd go this route because it severely cuts into your total budget. You could still try to do a mini-fridge (or full-size), but you'll need to watch free classifieds (Craigslist, etc.) pretty diligently to make sure you aren't paying for that piece (or not paying much). I got my fridge for free, so my Herpstat + flexwatt (pre-wired) + thermometer + tubs + substrate/light diffuser + fan probably totalled <=$200.

With your first girl due only 4 weeks from now, you should pick whichever "box" (cooler, fridge, etc.) that you can get the quickest, get your thermostat on order now, and get everything assembled and ready ASAP. I had my incubator running a full month to get everything tweaked the first season after I built it. This year, it only took a few days.

If it is for one or three clutches, there are less expensive options.

Your biggest issue will be the cost of a thermostat. If you have an extra you can build a cooler style incubator for way less than $150. I have seen how-to's on theses posted. You would just need a large cooler, heat source, stat and a thermometer.

$50-70 cooler
$12 thermometer
$25 flexwatt
$10-20 incubation media

Then $30-120 for a thermostat unless you already have one.

Not fancy, but will work.

Imo i would try maternal incubation. You wont have to spend anything that way. The write up thread stickied on maternal incubation is very detailed and good. I would give it a shot!