Incubator woes

The most recent 3 of my 23 clutches so far this year, have had one or more hatchlings
with dorsal kinking.

I've heard people say this is genetic, but that would not explain why three clutches in
a row, all sired by different males, are affected.

There must have been an unexplained (and missed) spike or drop in temps. Maybe a
hot spot in the incubator.

I only have two clutches left this year, but as soon as both are out, the incubator will
be getting an overhaul. First and foremost, a low voltage fan or two for air circulation.

I'd like to hear ideas other have for keeping their incubators stable.

Fans, you said it, air flow helps keep the temps stable.
You should have Jason show you our big inc and how he set it up :gj:

I just got my incubator together last week. I used a wine cooler with a glass door.

I only plan on 3-4 clutches this year, so it should do me well for now. Mine had a light inside, so it already had 120v and I just left the light installed. I put a small power strip mounted to the bottom where the compressor was removed. I got myself a small 120v AC to 12v DC wall inverter. They are like $20 and will handle a few 120mm DC fans easily.... like this:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXL353&P=7

I cut the alligator clips off and wired the striped wire (+) to a rheostat. Just wire the (-) wire to the (-) on your 12v DC fan(s), and the (+) wire from your fan(s) to the output of the rheostat. I only needed one 120mm fan, but if you have a large incubator two may be nice. Get some nice liquid ball bearing fans like these.... they are very quiet and reliable. I have had 4 of them running on a rheostat in my computer for over 5 years 24/7/365. Scythe is one of the best names in cooling fans. Get fans rated for more than you think you will need. That way you can slow them down with the rheostat if you determine you have too much airflow.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185150

Now.... I have a Herpstat 1 with a cheap Zilla as a failsafe. I also have a remote thermometer/hygrometer sensor inside. The sensor is one shelf lower than the Herpstat sensor and is within ~1F, so I consider that pretty good. Herpstat 88.5F, remote sensor 87.4F/73% RH. Tubs have condensation inside so I'm sure they are good. I used a mix of equal parts of Perlite, fine Vermiculite and coarse Vermiculite with a light diffuser supported by 1/2" PVC couplers.

All AC components are plugged into the powerstrip, which is then plugged into a battery backup power supply in the event of a power failure. The battery backup should run the incubator for several hours in the event of a power outage. My Flexwatt is only about 60w and the fan is ~3w where I have it set with the rheostat. I know I have a battery backup for my computer which draws ~400w and it will run that for about 2 hours of internet surfing.... no games or heavy graphics.

There you have it!!

The rheostat is mounted on the far bottom left in the first photo. You can see the power strip with all AC components and the adapter linked above plugged in to power the DC fan.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...926_005134.jpg

Fan mounted inside- running at about 1/2 speed for me.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...926_004746.jpg

What's a dorsel kink?

hey Corey what type of battery back up did you use? I love the idea... winter here is not kind on the power.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anna.Sitarski

hey Corey what type of battery back up did you use? I love the idea... winter here is not kind on the power.

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CyberPower is the best I've have found. If it's stable enough for a computer, it's good enough for an incubator. Shop around- you can find refurbs that just had the battery replaced. Mine was $149 new at Office Depot. Mine is a CyberPower 1285AVR. The higher the VA rating the better, but you don't need much for an incubator.

One refurb on Amazon for $99 ;)

http://www.amazon.com/Cyberpower-CP1.../dp/B000FBNWM2

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Originally Posted by rubenjames

What's a dorsel kink?

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A kinked or deformed spine.

I know it's a deformity but what do they look like are they easy to spot?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rubenjames

I know it's a deformity but what do they look like are they easy to spot?

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If it happens, you'll know it happened.

Just google "BP dorsal kink" and you should find some pictures.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Fans, you said it, air flow helps keep the temps stable.
You should have Jason show you our big inc and how he set it up :gj:

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Hey there Jerry!

I may have to. I've been to your place but only before you moved. I've never been to Jason's, nor have you ever made it over here.

I just added a 6" 12V computer fan. I assume that should not give off too much heat. While I was in there I pulled out a hatchling with the worst kinking so far. A woma... (female I think, but hard to tell with that much kinking, not that it matters, he/she should never be bred) This one may not survive it's first BM, the body is still fused together just before the vent too.

8 hatchlings, in 3 clutches! This is killing me!

At least the queen bee wasn't affected, nor was it's sibling bumble bee. (A smoking hot bumble bee with blushing that I've never seen before) yet 3 of their clutchmates were affected.

My first incubator I too built from a wine refrigerator with a glass door. I placed a 120mm computer fan at the bottom aiming up to keep air moving around. I also use a VE 300 for my thermostat as well as a digital thermometer on the bottom and top shelves to monitor air temp from top to bottom. It worked great for me! Currently we use a large Nature's Spirit incubator. However, we are currently building our first walk in incubator in our facility. Good luck!

I've just been given permission by my wife to convert our storage room (my first snake room) into a walk in incubator. It's probably 6' x 14'. First I have to figure out what to do with everything in it.

I thought I might take my current incubator, once it's reworked some, and use it for the last few days
of incubation, because it has a glass door. Then I'm not opening the big incubator 10 times a day to
run in and look.

Do you ever worry about too much cool air getting in when you open the door?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NWReptiles

Hey there Jerry!

I may have to. I've been to your place but only before you moved. I've never been to Jason's, nor have you ever made it over here.

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Yeah not having a car does make getting around kind of difficult :(

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I just added a 6" 12V computer fan. I assume that should not give off too much heat.

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That should help without too much heat.
I found using rheostats/dimmers on the fans helps tremendously getting the temps to be even top to bottom and side to side.

Quote:

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While I was in there I pulled out a hatchling with the worst kinking so far. A woma... (female I think, but hard to tell with that much kinking, not that it matters, he/she should never be bred) This one may not survive it's first BM, the body is still fused together just before the vent too.

8 hatchlings, in 3 clutches! This is killing me!

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I can only imagine, I had some incubator issues myself and lost a whole clutch of lessers and the pewter het clown too, trusting cheap thermometers...ugh

Quote:

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At least the queen bee wasn't affected, nor was it's sibling bumble bee. (A smoking hot bumble bee with blushing that I've never seen before) yet 3 of their clutchmates were affected.

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That's great, glad to see it wasn't a total loss!

Quote:

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I've just been given permission by my wife to convert our storage room (my first snake room) into a walk in incubator. It's probably 6' x 14'. First I have to figure out what to do with everything in it.

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That would be an awesome sized incubator!

I'll have to come over with Jason next time I swing over to his place, maybe this weekend and pick up some feeders from you :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coreydelong

CyberPower is the best I've have found. If it's stable enough for a computer, it's good enough for an incubator. Shop around- you can find refurbs that just had the battery replaced. Mine was $149 new at Office Depot. Mine is a CyberPower 1285AVR. The higher the VA rating the better, but you don't need much for an incubator.

One refurb on Amazon for $99 ;)

http://www.amazon.com/Cyberpower-CP1.../dp/B000FBNWM2

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Do you know how long it will run an incubator for, approximately?

At full load (750w) my model will only last ~5 minutes, but an incubator with 4ft of 11" Flexwatt takes only 80w max load. My incubator is only hitting 0-20% load once it's up to temp on my Herpstat 1, so I'd say you'd be good for a few hours at least.

20% of 80w is only 16w assuming you had 4ft of 11" Flexwatt. I only have 2ft of 11" Flexwatt in my little wine chiller, so at 20% load I'm only pulling 8w of power. I'd say that would last a while :D

Hasn't been tested, though? I'm going to grab one, and I'll test it, and see.