Hotbox incubators

Just wanted to know if anyone has used Hotbox incubators or has any info on them? I like what I have seen so far on their site but would love to here from someone who has had one or is familiar with them. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Doby71

Just wanted to know if anyone has used Hotbox incubators or has any info on them? I like what I have seen so far on their site but would love to here from someone who has had one or is familiar with them. Thanks.

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I have never used one or had even heard of Hotbox until this post, but I will be honest with you... You could build that 60" incubator that is listed for $1450 for ~$200 using melamine, heat tape or cable, and some computer fans. Throw another $100 for a good thermo.

Even the 24" unit is pricey at $550
That being said, they look decent if you like throwing cash at things rather than doing them yourself.

I don't know them personally nor do I own one, but I have seen them at shows and even got to see one up and running. It works perfectly. I agree they are a bit pricey, but their incubators are beautiful. If I had that kind of money, I'd pick one up instead of making one myself just because of how professional they look.

Melamine incubator you say? How do you insulate that? Got a build you've done successfully?


Search function time.

I'd rather make my own. And I personally don't see the point of a LED fan in an incubator. Personal preference I guess.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

Melamine incubator you say? How do you insulate that? Got a build you've done successfully?


Search function time.

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I did build my own. It took some time because I had to come up with all the dimensions. You can buy the paneling at Home Depot that is like Dry Erase Board, I used that as my first layer, then an inch or rigid insulation, then a 1/4 of plywood, then a 1 inch wooden frame with 1 inch rigid insulation inside the frame, and finished with a 1/4 inch of plywood (you can see the different layers on the picture of the inside of the incubator). It is pretty easy, I could take some measurements if you want, but I went big, capable of holding about 30 clutches. I used 11 inch Heat Tape, computer fans and a Vivarium VE-300 to control it all. I hatched out over 50 eggs and the only one that I lost was due to a twisted umbilical chord. Here are a few pictures. I definitely recommend building your own because it is not difficult and you can size it exactly to your needs.

The Outside
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...ncubator_6.jpg

The Inside
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...ncubator_2.jpg

Are those can full of water? Nice build my next one will be like that. Or I will just use a stand up freezer.

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Originally Posted by toyota89

Are those can full of water? Nice build my next one will be like that. Or I will just use a stand up freezer.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

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The cans are full of sand and then a little silicone to seal them. I like sand better than water for 2 reasons, first sand is easier to clean up if it spills and second, per gram, sand can hold more heat than water (play sand is cheap and easy to buy at Home Depot or Lowes). Stand up freezers work and they can be cheaper since you can often use a broken one, however, the nice thing about building from scratch is that you can make the incubator exactly the size you want. So it was little more expensive to do it the way I did, but I know that it fit my needs perfectly. Also, it was sealed real tight with lots of insulation, so it could hold a temperature for quite some time if the power went out. Just some thoughts.

I can't afford them. But I have met the guy that makes them and I bought a BP from him. He's a really good guy and really works with you.


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Originally Posted by Slowcountry Balls

I like sand better than water for 2 reasons, first sand is easier to clean up if it spills and second, per gram, sand can hold more heat than water (play sand is cheap and easy to buy at Home Depot or Lowes).

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Nice build. I can sympathize with the easier to clean up part, but I had do a little research on the second part and figured I'd share with any future thread readers. Sand can't hold more heat per gram than water. In fact, it can hold less than one fifth as much heat per gram: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/sp...ity-d_391.html . It can be between 1.5 and 2 times as dense as water, so at best those cans hold 40% of the heat energy they would hold if they were full of water, which could be a reasonable tradeoff for the easy clean up. Water can generally hold more heat per gram than all "normal" materials.