hatchling rack and incubator

i am goin to build a hatchling rack i have afew questions about it what size tubs do you need ?how many tubs will i need to have in it ?im planning on getting 3 clutchs .whats the best material to build it out of? and around how much would i be expecting 2 pay for all the materials ? about the incubator i also plan on building one of these .what is the best design to use if i plan incubating 3 clutchs ? any tips on building them?

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Originally Posted by phil7870

i am goin to build a hatchling rack i have afew questions about it what size tubs do you need ?how many tubs will i need to have in it ?im planning on getting 3 clutchs .whats the best material to build it out of? and around how much would i be expecting 2 pay for all the materials ? about the incubator i also plan on building one of these .what is the best design to use if i plan incubating 3 clutchs ? any tips on building them?

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well you need a tub for each hatchling so 8 egg avg x 3 but thats a guess only you could end up with more or less.

6qt tubs work great for hatchlings
cost varies on how you build it you can anywhere from $40 to $4,000 and up
incubator you can use a cooler, fridge, pretty much anything that can keep in heat


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wat would be the best incubator for 3 clutchs because a cooler might be 2 small but a fridge is over kill haha

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Originally Posted by phil7870

wat would be the best incubator for 3 clutchs because a cooler might be 2 small but a fridge is over kill haha

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use a mini fridge or a bigger cooler like the ones below
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...32&postcount=1
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...18&postcount=4

i cant get flexwatt over hear what will i use as heat ??

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Originally Posted by phil7870

i cant get flexwatt over hear what will i use as heat ??

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where is over here?

im in ireland when have heat mats and heat cable over here

Can you buy a under water heater for like an aquarium? I have seen ppl make an incubator out of a cooler filled with water in the bottom and one of them as the heater. I will look or it on you tube for you
YouTube - making incubater #1.mpg

i seen that alri not a bad idea

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Originally Posted by phil7870

im in ireland when have heat mats and heat cable over here

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http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...27&postcount=6

thats del's setup you could always pm him to find out exactly how its setup

Or you may have someone buy the flexx for you and ship it to you. If you have someone that would do that for you. Might be a bit more expensive but worth it if you have no other means.

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Originally Posted by BLong7211

Or you may have someone buy the flexx for you and ship it to you. If you have someone that would do that for you. Might be a bit more expensive but worth it if you have no other means.

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if your thinking that could it just be ordered from big apple herp or someone direct?

It could be if them places ship over seas which IDK if they do or don't I was just making a suggestion.

flexwatt is illegal in the EU (tats the respon i was told when i ask people bout it ) .

Illegal to sell or to own?

you should be able to use these heat pads too
http://www.beanfarm.com/store/agora....roduct=Heating

dr. del uses flexwatt and he lives in scotland too
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...44&postcount=1

BLong7211 i dnt no

771subliminal yeah i do use them heat mats

never new the came in 6inch ones i think i'll use them

Hi,

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Originally Posted by phil7870

flexwatt is illegal in the EU (tats the respon i was told when i ask people bout it ) .

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No it isn't. :D

I imported some direct from Calorique a year or two ago and built my first rack using it.

I am planning on using lucky reptile heatmats to build my next two though as they seem to have the power to generate the heats no problem. :gj:


dr del

tats just wat i was told because i was trying to get a big order to lower the cost of postsge on everyone but i was told it was illegal .how are you going to use the heat matts on the back of the rack

Hi,

Ordering wasn't a problem - but there are customs charges.

My problem came in that they wouldn't deliver until those customs charges were paid - but no one had actually told me about them so I was sitting there wondering where the package was. :rolleyes:

I actually prefer belly heat on my racks because this is quite a cold house and I felt belly heat would be more reliable.


dr del

the rack im building is goin to be for baby corns .i was think back heat would be enough .what size tub is 6qt and around how many liters. dr del where did you get your tubs and how much where they each ?i might use the lids because the fact there baby

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Originally Posted by phil7870

the rack im building is goin to be for baby corns .i was think back heat would be enough .what size tub is 6qt and around how many liters. dr del where did you get your tubs and how much where they each ?i might use the lids because the fact there baby

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6qt is the shoebox size tub they run bout a $1 each you should be able to get them at any store that sells storage containers like wal-mart k-mart
http://www.sterilite.com/ProductDeta...ection=Storage

Hi,

Yes for corns prety much any heatmat you can get in the stores would be fine. I imagine back heat would also be fine given the temp gradient you want - but belly heat might give you a more defined gradient. I simply don't know for sure not having tried back heat.

For hatchling corns I used to use the boxes crickets were sold in. :oops:

Once they outgrew those I used to use tupperware boxes from poundtretcher. :P

This year I planned on building a dedicated hatchling rack with slightly more uniform boxes and bought 20 of these.

Imagine my joy in discovering hatchling royal pythons are strong enough to pop the corners. :mad:

So I will still be using the lids but will need to make the shelves closer together to prevent escapees.

Not that I think hatchling corns will be able to pop the lids but why take the risk. :rolleyes:


dr del

how long would the cricket tubs do ?? i dnt no if its the same over ther but over here if you get a take awy you get a tub i'll get the measurements to see they will do

Hi,

Yep I know those takeaway tubs - they sell them in pound stretcher as well.

The tops are really well fitting with lots of catches - which makes them a right pain in the sit-upons to open. :rofl:

I have tried them in the past but the plastic always feels "sticky" to me and they are quite low which makes it a bit tricky getting waterbowls heavy enough not to spill easily but that are short enough to fit.

The cricket tubs will do brand new hatchlings for a month or so. After that I always preffered moving them up a box size. So if you were planning on keeping them for a little while before sale (or if you think they might be bad feeders ) it might be worth designing the rack to hold the bigger boxes from the start.


dr del

the only tubs i can find are 15 euro for 4 of them

Hi,

Doesn't that place I linked to ship to dublin?

The tubs I got work out to be 1.36 euros each according to the online convertor - but shop around because a lot of places sell them cheaper.

I only bought from him because he had a free shipping order on at the time that made him the cheapest.


dr del

they would work for corns

i might be better off with the bigger ones if they dont sell for awhile

Hi,

I planned to have 4 of those tubs on a 30" heatmat per shelf.

But seriously check the baragain stores first as you can occasionally get good deals on things that can be used for reptiles - I got my grow out tubs for royals from doing that. :)

And have been told that ikea sell little glass bowls for holding tea lights that would be idea waterdishes for those tubs - though I haven't made it out there to check yet.


dr del

what size were you goin to use the 2 l,3l,or the 5.8

Hi,

I bought the 3.0L ones - large enough for hatchling royal pythons and small enough to keep them feeling secure I think.

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Originally Posted by Product description

Large 3lt
245mm Length x 185mm Width x 75mm High
Lid is hinged approx 75mm from one end giving the lid a 17.5cm section and a 7cm section, either of which can be opened while the other remails attatched Lid contains 8 x 5mm diameter pre-drilled ventilation holes (2 at each end & 2 on each side). When the tubs are stacked the ventilation holes remain un-covered.

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If the lids were harder to pop open I'd be delighted - though at least I learned this before I built the rack I suppose. Now if only they would get the finger out and deliver the wood I ordered 6 weeks ago. :taz: :taz: :taz:

At this rate I will have sold enough of the first clutch to fit the second clutch in the old hatchling rack when they hatch. :rolleyes:

But if I do then I will use the heatmats and thermostat to build a grow out rack of 2 foot tubs instead. :twisted:


dr del

could you not put the top of the tubs close to the shelves if you no wat i mean then even if it opens it would be stoped by the shelf

just after get 2 poly box dont no with one to use as a incubator here are the measurement first one is 24inch long 13 high and 18 wide the next one is 19 long 15 wide and 15 high .which one would be better for 3 clutchs and easier to heat ?

Hi,

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Originally Posted by phil7870

could you not put the top of the tubs close to the shelves if you no wat i mean then even if it opens it would be stoped by the shelf

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Yes, that is what I was trying to say with this part;

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Originally Posted by dr del

Imagine my joy in discovering hatchling royal pythons are strong enough to pop the corners. :mad:

So I will still be using the lids but will need to make the shelves closer together to prevent escapees.

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On the incubator front you might need to use both if they are all laid at the same time and are stuck together awkwardly. :rolleyes:

The choice between the two is a toughie though.

How were you planning on heating it? If it is heatmats you need to allow space for bottles of water (they act as thermal ballast and keep the temps more stable ) and a shelf above them to sit the egg boxes on.

If you were going to try a fish tank heater you would need something on the bottom to make sure the heater didn't melt the poly (slate tile would work ) and some way of supporting the shelf above the water.

I would probably use the heatmats on a thermostat method and also try the substrateless incubation method ( there is still substrate it's just called that because the eggs do not touch it directly but sit on a grate ) with as many bottles of water you can fit in a layer on the heatmat and a grating sitting on top of those.

Have a look for all the incubator threads in the DIY section ("cooler" might be a good search term to find them ) to see what has worked for others in the past. :gj:


dr del