need help confused setting up incubator

[Kryptonian]

I have a couple weeks before she lays but I want to make sure this thing is up and running and holding its temp before she does.
i bought a hovabator 1602N. It is used. First I want to make sure there are no missing parts I am not aware of so I have pictured all it came with. Second the instructions are geared towrds chicken eggs. I planned to use vermiculite and egg crate but this thing came with some plastic tray thing and a metal screen.

I am unable to get a thermostat for it so I plan to put a temp strip in it as well as a flukers digital hygrometer/thermometer and cheack on it 2 x a day to make sure temps are steady as well as I have a temp gun.

here is the bottom



this is the top



this is the plastic tray



the metal screen



this is the top it has holes in it, this is ok? not to much heat and humidity will be lost? The bottom has a few around the edges too.



this is the instructions




and this part is where I get confused, cann I not just put wet vermiculite in the bottom?



so how do i set this up? can i use the metal screen instaead of egg crate or should i use the egg crate or both?

how full of vermiculite should i use, or use the tray or both?

to take temps with my temp gun is it safe to open the bator? 2 times. 1 time in a day.
should i take the temp of the actuall eggs?
do you need to rehydrate the vermiculite any time during incubation? if so how much water should be added? I know it should be wet enough that only if you squeeze it should water release, but you wont be able to squeeze it once there ar eggs ontop of it.

any other info i am missing please add.

[matt71915]

i dont have a hovabator so i dont know what should all be in it, sorry
you would be better off buying a digital thermometer. there is one people say is decent that can be found at walmart for around 12 ish bucks. Cant remember the name though

[Kryptonian]

i dont have a hovabator so i dont know what should all be in it, sorry
you would be better off buying a digital thermometer. there is one people say is decent that can be found at walmart for around 12 ish bucks. Cant remember the name though

i have a digi thermometer/hygrometer, made by flukers. it reads both humidity and temp. what i dont have is a thermostat. |I went to the hardware stores and wallmart but there wasnt anything that looked like it could be used with the hovabator

[matt71915]

my bad i read over the digital part

[Fallguy]

I have that same model, and I made a few changes. First take out the tray and metal screen. I put all of my eggs (4) in a rubermaid tub, 6 Qt. I believe. I had plain small vermiculite in the bottom of that. You want the vermiculite wet, but not so wet that when you squeeze it, water will come out. After the eggs and vermiculite are in it, put some press and seal over the top. This will not fill the entire bator. I also put a small bowl of water in it, as well as a bit of wet spaghnum moss around the bowl. I put my digital thermometer/hygrometer outside of the 6 Qt. tub, and took the wire lead for the "outside temp" and placed it into the tub with the eggs. I also took the lead for my thermostat, and placed it in the egg tub.

The way I handled the temp issue is to start early. Way before the eggs get there. First, I adjusted the built in thermostat. it is not a good one on the Hovabator, so it is good to have an external backup. once I was anle to get that stable, I plugged it into my external thermostat, and adjusted it so that it would go off just before the Hovabator was set to go off. I have heard that if some thermostats fail, they will continue to heat. Having two will help a lot.

I do not have any pics right now as I already took my setup down. I hope this helps.

[Kryptonian]

well i will not be able to get a thermostat, ive tried and cant find one that will work so I have no choice but to just check it alot. The only kind i can find are the kind that you wire into the walls of your home.

[dr del]

Hi,

Somewhere must sell reptile thermostats online surely?

You could even try dropping an email to some of the bigger Canadian reptile breeders and asking where they recommend to buy them.

I know over here only stores with a good reptile section sell thermostats - mostly they need to be ordered online unless you live nearby.


dr del

[Seneschal]

Hi,
I've never incubated before but I would think the holes--as big as they are--would be a problem for humidity. The reason they are there, most likely, is for air transfer as this is geared towards bird eggs, which from what I have read require fresh air. As I have heard that ball eggs do not, if I were you I would attemp to seal most of not all of the holes for the preservation of humidity. Saran wrap with tape overtop of the saran wrap to secure it down would work well to hold in humidity without possibly exposing an industrious, energetic baby to tape.

Just my thoughts.

Good luck!

[Dr_Gonz0]

well i will not be able to get a thermostat, ive tried and cant find one that will work so I have no choice but to just check it alot. The only kind i can find are the kind that you wire into the walls of your home.

Greg West advertises herpstat thermostats for sale all the time on the ERAS forums.

Robin
H2 Exotics

[Kryptonian]

ok well i am left in a pickle then, there is no way i can afford a couple hundred for a herpstat until the end of the month. I went off someones advise on a forum that you could use a themostat from a hardware store and that they got one from home depot. so for the last couple of weeks I have been trying to hunt one down with no luck. By the time i can get a herpstat payed and delivered these eggs will be layed and a couple weeks in. Just goes to show you cant always trust an "experts" advise. So I would like to know how to set this thing up and if its at all possible to hatch them without the thermostat. Perhaps someone on here has a non herpatat but a thermostat they are using for thiers that they could so kindly provide me with a brand and model number and then I can phone every hardware store in town. Even some pics or suggestions of a thermostat that will work that I can take to a hardware store and maybe get help. Something to get them by till I can get a herpstat.