Incubator question?

So I am building an incubator out of a 38 bottle wine cooler I picked up. My question is this if the incubator is air tight will there be enough oxygen in the incubator after the snakes pip to keep them from suffocating or would I need to fix that problem? I don't know if I am wording this correctly so if I am unclear please feel free to clarify. Thank you for the help.

You will prolly be opening it checking on eggs every so often anyway, this will exchange air. If you are worried about it, you could open the door specifically for this reason...

Also, you will have to drill a hole to get power chords and t stat/meter probes, so there would prolly be a little air.

It should be fine. You will still need a small fan to circulate the air, so the warm air doesn't get stuck on top and the cooler air is on the bottom.

Alright. I won't have to drill holes cause there are existing holes from pulling the cooling coils out of it. I was planning on sealing those hole once I ran the cords through. So should I not seal the holes?

Already have the fans worked out I wired the existing fans and they are running fine. Also for an incubator what thermostat would you recommend I run?

You could seal the holes if you like. Just open the incubator at least once a week to exchange air. I am sure you will be just fine.

Get a proportional Tstat. Helix, herpstat, and VE are the best IMO. An on/off tstat may let it get too cold or too warm before kicking on/off. I don't like em for my incubators. A proportional tstat will maintain temp by altering the amount of electricity going to the heat source keeping it where you want it. They tend to only have about a 1degree variance.

the babies could be in the inc for a month or two before running out of oxygen even if you didn't open it weekly or daily.

proportional t-stat

fans on rheostat/dimmer, it makes them able to help fine tune the air flow so you get the least hot spots.

Thank you the info really helps. I won't be getting my first clutch until next fall but I am just getting everything prepared. Plus it's not everyday that you find a 38 bottle wine cooler for free on Craigslist. Next step is to get my hatchling rack all set up. Better to be prepared than to be running around last minute trying to set everything up. I will post a pic of the finished product when complete.

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Originally Posted by Dyna Bob

Thank you the info really helps. I won't be getting my first clutch until next fall but I am just getting everything prepared. Plus it's not everyday that you find a 38 bottle wine cooler for free on Craigslist. Next step is to get my hatchling rack all set up. Better to be prepared than to be running around last minute trying to set everything up. I will post a pic of the finished product when complete.

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It's always nice to see when people plan ahead and research things before the last minute. Good luck with the build man....and pics are a must when it's complete!