Opinions on Incubator..

[Sarin]

I am thinking of making a water-based incubator for this season as I am only having 1 clutch. I believe it was O.C.D that mentioned this type of incubator.

It's an air-tight cooler with bricks placed on the bottom. Water is filled just to the tops of the bricks and a submersible water heater is placed inside. My thermostat probe is placed in the water and the heater is connected to the thermostat set at 87-89. I'll have two thermometers, one's probe will be in the water and the other will be in the egg box to monitor proper temperatures. The egg box will be filled with hatch-rite (etc) and placed on top of the bricks just over the water. The egg box will be covered in press and seal wrap and with a lid.

Does this sound reasonable? I have heard of a couple people using this method without a problem but I want to ensure my clutch will be healthy. If you have any pointers/advice on this method please let me know as well.



Thanks!

[jglass38]

I used it my first year breeding and it worked great.

I wrote this up way back...

http://www.glassreptiles.com/articles/incubator.pdf


Good luck!

[dr del]

Hi,

I use an incubator like that - but I don't seal the top of the egg boxes as the water with the heater in it ensures very very high humidity in the whole incubator.

I generally do not use any lids on the egg boxes at all until the last week or two of incubation and then I put on lids with screen inserts just to prevent the snakes from coming out and possibly falling into the water. I was even wondering if I could try substrateless incubation with it.


dr del

[Sarin]

Thanks guys. That eases my mind a whole lot.

Do you think a 25 watt heater would do the job or should I go higher?

[jglass38]

Thanks guys. That eases my mind a whole lot.

Do you think a 25 watt heater would do the job or should I go higher?

I would go higher. I recall using a 150 but I could be wrong. It's been so long. I suggest using an Ebo Jaeger heater and a good proportional thermostat.

[Sarin]

It was actually your writeup I was thinking of - I don't know why I thought it was OCD, maybe the colors!

Is there a reason for the higher wattage? I am not very good when it comes to these things so I am not sure what wattage does.

[dr del]

Hi,

How much water do you think will be used?

As long as it has a good reliable thermostat on it I generally preffer a little extra capacity on the heater - but that's because I live in a cold house in a cool country.

I do have the wireless thermometer reading sitting 18 inches from my nose as I type just to double check everything.

So, in closing, put me down as a "don't know".


dr del

[jglass38]

It was actually your writeup I was thinking of - I don't know why I thought it was OCD, maybe the colors!

Is there a reason for the higher wattage? I am not very good when it comes to these things so I am not sure what wattage does.

I used a good deal of water. It takes a higher wattage to heat a larger amount of water and keep it heated. That is why certain wattages are recommended for certain size fish tanks. Here is a chart that actually may help:


http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/ti...heatersize.htm

Sure it's referring to aquariums but it's the same concept. Make sure you get the incubator set up a week or so in advance of any expected eggs. You want time to stabilize the temp and get the egg box temp right.

Good luck!

[PythonWallace]

Test it out for a few days and find out. I always like to go overboard with the heat source, just because it gets up to temperature faster if you open it up or there are any fluctuations. If you set it up in a room that is as cold as the area is likely to get and it keeps good steady temps for a few days, you should be fine. If you are using water, or even moist substrate to humidify the entire incubator there is no reason to seal the egg box. As long as the heater is powerful enough, it should get the job done for a single clutch..