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Help With Incubator

redtailgirl83

redtailgirl83

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Hi All,
I am new to breeding ball pythons this year. I have two normal females that have locked with my male albino. So hopefully there will be some eggs in the spring. I have a chicken egg incubator that has a fan and a resevoir at the bottom for water. It does not rotate the eggs at all, it has a wire mesh screen that keeps the eggs off the water. I bought the vermeculite (spelling?) to put in the bottom of the tubs when the eggs arrive. The tubs for the clutches fit in the incubator. Would this work? Or should I just not bother to waste my time?

Thanks!
Megan
[email protected]
 
Is it a styrofoam Hobovator? I have one but never used it. Still have it in the garage, and decided to convert a wine cooler instead. I understand that the hobovators work best if the fan is not used and the thermostate that comes with it is disconnected and the heating element is hooked up to a more reliable thermostate such as a helix or herpstat.
I hear that people have used them with succcess, and you have the right idea with using tubs, but they are marginal at best and you should consider upgrading at some point.
 
Thanks for your response :) I will look at the incubator box when I get home and get a better description of it. What type of tubs would be best?
 
Your tubs should be fine as long as the eggs fit and they have lids, I meant to say the hobovator is marginal at best.
 
easy way to make a small incubator is with a igloo cooler. Go to home depot and get you 4 tubs @ $1 each, egg crate, and pvc piping with (8) 3 way elbows and (8) 4 way elbows. Get a cooler that can hold all 4 tubs sideways next to eachother. build a pvc cage inside that goes along the bottom with 2 cross pipes. The corners and cross pipes have a fitting to make a riser pipe on each elbow allowing you to make the top part of the cage. Get a small computer fan and cut and splice it in to a cell phone charger to plug in for power. Attach the fan to one of the top middle cross braces with 2 zip ties. Get a submergable fish tank heat cable and wrap it around the bottom of the cage. Cut the egg crate so that it fits in the bottom of the tubs and makes a shelf on the top of the cage. Use a soldering iron to make 2 holes on each end of the tubs and 4 on each side. Fill the cooler up with water to cover the heat cable. Put your thermostat probe in one of the holes in a tub, plug your heat cable into your thermostat, then plug in to the wall. The two little cables (heat, fan) will not effect the incubator. You do not need to use any medium as the egg crate will keep the eggs off any condensation on the floor. This method gives 100% humidity and keeps 100% of the egg at a constant temp as well. Does cause some water to drip when you open so put somewhere appropate. For the skeptics.....hatched many clutches this way including 2 desert fireflies last year......it works!
 
Cost me $15 for my wine cooler (non-working from recycled appliance place), a few dollars for my 11" flex watt heat tape. A buck each for the shoe box tubs. My biggest expense was the thermostat. Done.
 
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you guys on here. I was able to take some pics of what I have. I have used this for chicken eggs and it worked perfectly at maintaining a constant temperature. Thanks for all your suggestions!
 

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That looks like the Hovabator I've used the past couple years (without water in the bottom or the fan). It's worked great for me, but I know others who have had issues. :shrug01:
 
If you can't afford the alternative, this can be made to work for you. It is not optimal though. I would use a differant thermostat with it and use egg crate at the bottom. I still recommend finding an old mini fridge and building your own.
 
http://www.nsreptiles.com/incubator.html

whats a clutch worth, or your time building a mini fridge? Bumbleboy and I were talking and he found this one. For $425 shipped a clutch will pay for it and hold you over for quite a few years. Everyones ways of doing it (on this post) are correct and they work for them and thats all that matters........
 
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