What kind of incubator is best

[L.West]

I've seen alot of info about the Hovabator Incubator - are these considered good incubators.

I may try my hand at breeding one day down the road but like to do my research ahead of time.

I would be a very small time breeder so I wouldn't need any huge elaborate incubator - do you guys think a hovabator would do the job?? And, should I get the one with the fan or not.

Thanks

[GR8DANE]

home made

[L.West]

I really perfer to buy my supplies vs. make them - I am not handy like that.

Do you have any experience with the Hovabator??

Most of the fun for me with keeping snakes - is buying all the fancy gadgets, racks and such to keep them in the optimum conditions.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I think most people here have built them.

Free mini fridge + flex-a-watt + power cord = $20 +/-
Thermostat $100 to $200

Good to go

[mues155]

I have no experience with the hovabator so i cant help you there.

But ive used the Reptibator from zoo med. As a small scale incubator its actually quite good.
Has a digital screen for adjusting the temps. The screen displays temp and humidity.
The only thing is you have to add water to the bottom maybe every other day. You could add moss or towels if you need it to stay at a high humidty (if you have room).
I havnt incubated BP eggs yet with it but ive done 2 clutches of leopard gecko eggs and currently have bullsnake and more leo eggs cooking. It would probably one have room for one large clutch of BPs or two small clutches.

Just do some research and ive heard enough things about the hovabator to know a lot of people use it anyways.

[mues155]

x2 on building your own.

You can find a broken mini energy drink fridge on craigslist and convert it to an incubator, theres plently of DIY info on this forum about that.

[koloo921]

I have a Natures Spirit incubator that has worked very well for me this season It will hold 12 6 quart tubs. It's always a good idea to have some extra room. I thought this would be plenty for me. I'm going to need to add another one or build a bigger one next year because I'm already running out of room.

[BoaFreak]

I also use the nature spirit incubator and love it. It holds temp extremely well and if end up running out of room with 1 I would not hesitate to buy another

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[SnakeGirl3]

I have used the Hova Bators up until this season, and I'm trying to convert an old wine fridge now because I don't have enough space. But Hova Bators can work very well if you're willing to put a bit more effort into it.

First, get the one withOUT the fan. The fan will dry out ball eggs.

Second, there's really not room for egg boxes in hova bators (they're too short), so you'll have to put your medium directly into the incubator, and place your eggs in that. This means you can only incubate one clutch per incubator.

Third, hova bators are not sealed up well, so this translates into having to add water to it about once per week during the first 6 weeks of incubation.

Fourth, hova bators can build up condensation that drips down onto the eggs--partially burying the eggs (but don't pack it tightly) with medium can help to keep the water off the eggs.

It's certainly possible to use hova bators successfully. I have used them with 100% hatch rate. Just takes a bit more diligence on the part of the keeper.