Please advise ASAP (incubator)

I mentioned that I was going to have my eggs (laid yesterday) incubated at the vivarium, but I had a change of heart & decided to buy an incubator... I can't and won't spend $150+ on something fancy for one mojave/normal clutch, so I found a Little Giant still-air incubator for $55 at the local feed store. I couldn't find a Hovabator anywhere in town, and these look to be basically the same - or are they?? :oops:

I've read threads and watched videos on using the Hovabator, but can't seem to find anything on the Little Giant... does anyone have experience with these, and could you give me some advice on using it? I'm not sure if I need to add water (in the chamber) AND the half-bag of HatchRite I had left over, also whether or not I need to use the mesh floor. It's plugged in right now, but I haven't added the eggs yet - so I'd really appreciate any info ASAP!

P.S. Please don't tell me to make my own... I did that last year, and it required calling in friends to help, buying all sorts of stuff (which will cost more than this incubator), and in the end it kinda sucked & I tossed it when I moved. So I'm obviously not the DIY kind of person!

I've used something similar. I kept the wire floor in, added water in the bottom to keep it humid and put the hatch rite in a container with the eggs. Worked like a charm.


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Thanks! I added water to the chamber, but humidity is still reading very low (40) - so I guess I do need the HatchRite... but what sized tub will fit in that thing? I have these little pencil-box type of containers, just not sure the eggs will fit in them. Argh. :(

I put the tub with HatchRite in the incubator, and I have the Acu-rite (thermometer) probe inside the tub - getting a temp reading of 85 & slowly climbing, but humidity is still only 40. Does it just take a while for the moisture to dissipate around the tub? And does it matter if the temperature OUTSIDE of the tub is much higher?

If I don't figure all of this out by late tonight, I'll just take the darned eggs to the vivarium tomorrow... and hopefully return the incubator. Poor Nerissa is sooooo skinny after laying, and I really don't want her sitting on those eggs for much longer!

What kind of gauge are you using? Without modification the common little Accurite (is that what the brand is?) gauges read temperature from the probe, but humidity from the unit itself. It could very well be that the ambient humidity of your room is 40%, and that it's higher in the incubator. Try putting your unit inside the incubator and see if the reading changes.

Cheers,
-Matt

Oops, double! Might as well make an edit, haha. You'd have to put the unit in the box if that was the case to get an accurate humidity reading. Sorry for the confusion :P.

Cheers,
-Matt

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Originally Posted by Matt K

What kind of gauge are you using? Without modification the common little Accurite (is that what the brand is?) gauges read temperature from the probe, but humidity from the unit itself. It could very well be that the ambient humidity of your room is 40%, and that it's higher in the incubator. Try putting your unit inside the incubator and see if the reading changes.

Cheers,
-Matt

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Thanks! That makes more sense, as I was wondering how the heck it was 40 INSIDE the tub... so I'll try that, and see if it changes. And yes, it would probably be around 40% in my apartment, since I live in a rather dry (Californian) climate.

Haha... as SOON as I put the Acurite inside the tub, humidity started quickly rising. :gj:

lmao go to lllreptile.com

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Originally Posted by stickyalvinroll

lmao go to lllreptile.com

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For what? Instructions? :confused:

Lol :) I made the same mistake. It was constantly between 49 and 51% and then boom, put it inside the container. Silly me.

Good luck!!!! No idea what size that thing is, but most people use 6 qt shoebox tubs to do eggs in.

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Lol :) I made the same mistake. It was constantly between 49 and 51% and then boom, put it inside the container. Silly me.

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Yeah, it was kind of a "duh" moment... especially considering this isn't my first clutch, LOL. But in my defense, I used a mini-fridge last year! :P

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Good luck!!!! No idea what size that thing is, but most people use 6 qt shoebox tubs to do eggs in.

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Thanks! The 6qt was definitely too big, so I found this nice flat-ish Sterilite at CVS... don't remember the dimensions, but it fits perfectly. Unfortunately one of the eggs is sticking up a bit (4/5 are fused together), so it's pressed right against the lid. Hope that doesn't affect it at all, though I imagine it won't.

Glad that worked out for you!

Cheers,
-Matt

Awesome,. good luck~!!!

Thanks to both of you! The best part was when my friend gave me her old Little Giant incubator, so I returned the other one for a full refund today. ;) Eggies are doing well, and the incubator is actually holding VERY steady - perfect 89 degrees with 99% humidity. Muy bueno, eh?

Nice!!!!!!!! :D

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Yeah, it was kind of a "duh" moment... especially considering this isn't my first clutch, LOL. But in my defense, I used a mini-fridge last year! :P



Thanks! The 6qt was definitely too big, so I found this nice flat-ish Sterilite at CVS... don't remember the dimensions, but it fits perfectly. Unfortunately one of the eggs is sticking up a bit (4/5 are fused together), so it's pressed right against the lid. Hope that doesn't affect it at all, though I imagine it won't.

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If the top perspires, which it might towards the end when the eggs get close to pipping, it may become an issue?

Even if you use that, you still need to buy a nice thermostat, it's going to cost you just as much as making your own.

I use Hovabators, and I put the eggs in directly, without a container, because they just don't have any head room for containers. I've used them both with the base filled with moist vermiculite, and with the water tray filled, and fluorescent light grid over it, for substrateless. I've been using substrateless exclusively this year, as the eggs seem to do better, and I don't have to clean vermiculite out of the hatchlings' noses, lol.

With the Little Giant, the primary issue is that it doesn't seal as well when you close it. If you tape it closed, and cover the seams, it should fix that humidity problem. (You will have to undo it to open the incubator, but you shouldn't have to do that more than once every couple of weeks anyhow).

My local feed store had one, and I rejected it for that reason, but with some sealing, it should work.

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Even if you use that, you still need to buy a nice thermostat, it's going to cost you just as much as making your own.

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So far the built-in thermostat seems to be working great... it's been holding steady at 89 for the last 2 days, with no fluctuations that I've noticed. I live in a very temperate climate, so proportional thermostats are much less important here. ;)

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

With the Little Giant, the primary issue is that it doesn't seal as well when you close it. If you tape it closed, and cover the seams, it should fix that humidity problem. (You will have to undo it to open the incubator, but you shouldn't have to do that more than once every couple of weeks anyhow).

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Once I moved the thermometer into the tub, it showed me the ACTUAL humidity - which is 99% and holding. So the seal doesn't seem to be a problem! That tub I found fits perfectly, so I guess that helps with the issue (as opposed to putting eggs directly in the incubator). But if I notice that dropping over the weeks, I'll take your advice on adding some tape.

P.S. The eggs also dropped a little after the first few hours, so that top egg is no longer pressing against the lid.

sweeet :)

Sounds like it will work out great, then. :)

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

sweeet :)

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Sounds like it will work out great, then. :)

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Yep, so far everything is hunky-dory! Even better, Nerissa chowed down two f/t mice last night... shocked the HECK outta me, since I was sure we'd have to find ASFs to get her back on feed (she rarely takes regular rats & even more rarely will take a mouse - dead or alive). Guess she was really really hungry, because they were gone in a matter of minutes. :gj: Kind of a small meal for a 1300g snake, but I figure that's enough following a 7-month fast & egg laying.