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Incubators

D

Dewback

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Hi, I was wondering what the best commercially made incubators may be. All I have is a Hova Bator and is just so unreliable. I have been looking for a long time and there are a number of names out there; Avey, Big Apple, Nature's Spirit, Lyons etc... I am looking for something versatile that can handle a number of species from womas to Indian pythons. If anyone has experience, good or bad, please share.

Thanks,

Jon McMahon
 
Hi Jon,

I have either personally used or have close friends that have used all of the brands you listed except Lyons. You really can not go wrong using any of them. You can also try building your own large capacity incubator. I have built two myself that have been every bit as reliable as the ones listed above.

Here is a link on how to build your own. These are the exact directions I followed when building mine. http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/incubator.shtml

One thing I did different on the converted fridge/freezer is that I used 4 feet of flexwatt. I also added a computer case fan to circulate the air.

Here is a pic of the medium sized incubator I made, I cant find any pics of the big one but the link I gave above is almost identical to my large one.

Herp_room_1.jpg
 
Sara, i think the Think Geek one is a good idea actually. It would be fun to test it out either way, and when youre done for that year.. youve got a minifridge for other stuff... hehe.

I like the idea of keeping it on a second thermostat too.... just in case. BUT, a question i have for it on this same topic would be.... if the temp got too high inside and it wasnt reliable enough to keep its own temp, and the second thermostat like we mentioned putting on it in chat went off,( and shut the entire machine off), would it reset it? Id be worried about that above anything else.

what about rewiring the thermostat with a better trustier one? Just throwing random stuff out.. ^_^ i love that thing, but im skeptical about it too. I guess, if its what youre going to try, youll have to do some interesting tests on it for us! because it truly is perfect for small clutches, and its cheap! hehe.
 
I will probably have to play with it to make sure that for example: i set it to 82* for beardies, that the eggs inside and dirt will be that temp, or that will be the air temp. I might have to set it higher to make sure it's that high in the tupperwares. I don't expect a problem since it's such a small space. I will be testing it with several thermometers. I don't expect to have a problem with the built in thermostat. If anything i would plug it into a surge protector/battery powered so if the power goes out it can still run for a while and not turn off/on and reset.
 
I am currently in need of upsizing my incubator capacity also and am purchasing a Habitat Systems incubator that will hold 9 shoebox size clutches. I currently have a baby rack they built and it is INCREDIBLE to work with!! They are a bit spendy, but for me it's a lifetime investment and I work with gtps which are fairly touchy in their requirements for eggs.

I currently have one of the small Avey units which works great, but can basically only hold one decent size clutch at a time, and last year built a large igloo style cooler that worked pretty well. I did have issues near the end of incubation time with humidity since I was unable to break it down and do a thorough cleaning.

I'm looking forward to a problem free season next year in the incubator!!
 
About the size of a NS at 1/3 the cost.
Click to expand...

I own one of these, and the interior is approx 13"hx8.5" deep x10" wide or approx 1100 cubic inches. The Natures Spirit Reptiles inc is approx. 23x23x17 or approx 5290 cubic inches. The thermostat is unreliable, but it does keep the set point if the power is lost.
 
Dewback said:
Hi, I was wondering what the best commercially made incubators may be. All I have is a Hova Bator and is just so unreliable.
Click to expand...

There's a part on those things you are suppose to replace every couple of years.
Mine (brand new last year) keeps the eggs between 80 and 82 without fail. I have a thermometer in the tub with eggs - never below 80 or above 82.

Just don't use the turbofan model.

What failures have you seen with them?
 
I am now in the market for an incubator. Hova Bators I have heard mixed reviews on so I am leaning towards trying to find something else.
I have used my homemade one but now want one especially made and holds more then mine.
Any suggestions???
 
Depending on the size of the shoebox, I'd say you could easily fit 12-15 in a Nature's Spirit incubator. Also, if you're looking for something bigger, get in touch with Casey. He does custom designs, too, and you can't beat the quality, service or price!
 
Anyone ever hear of this one or use this one before?
I am thinking of upgrading from a hovabator and I like the fact that this one has the low water alarm and you add water to the unit to control the humidity.
http://www.geckoincubator.com/
 
SPJ said:
Anyone ever hear of this one or use this one before?
I am thinking of upgrading from a hovabator and I like the fact that this one has the low water alarm and you add water to the unit to control the humidity.
http://www.geckoincubator.com/
Click to expand...
My honest opinion on that one Steve is it's a lot of hype for nothing. I was shocked when I saw what they wanted for that. Don't waste your money.
The reason you add water to the unit to control humidity is it's tiny. The unit itself is the incubation container.
I don't know what they consider medium eggs, but you're never going to get 60 snake eggs in a 19" x 16" space unless they're cornsnake eggs packed closely. Well, maybe rough green snake eggs, but show me someone who'll have 60 of those at one time.
Regardless, even if you only get 2-4 clutches in there, they're all together. Unless you're breeding nothing but normals or codoms, you won't know what you have when they hatch and start moving around. Forget any breedings that will produce hets. Keeping track of bloodlines is out too.
Unless you're just wanting a real expensive box to incubate single clutches in it looks like a waste of money to me.

On the same hand I haven't seen a lower end "commercial" incubator yet that I thought was worth the asking price. I have $40 in my 21 cubic foot incubator not including thermostat and I just can't see those $300-400 jobs working any better.
The NS and Big Apple incubators look like fine pieces of equipment, but at $500 and $600 with a thermostat for something less than half the size of mine? Not hardly.
 
Clay Davenport said:
On the same hand I haven't seen a lower end "commercial" incubator yet that I thought was worth the asking price. I have $40 in my 21 cubic foot incubator not including thermostat and I just can't see those $300-400 jobs working any better.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I have to agree on that one.
I think it is a supply/demand issue - there isn't enough demand for them yet to drop the price - as many hobbyists into herps are able to build their own - even if it consists of nothing more than an old ice chest and a water heater.
 
I have a JP Incubator. I haven't actually gotten to use it yet because I got it after all the eggs have hatched, but I'm excited to use it next year. Thing's massive, I can fit a LOT of Cornsnake eggs in this bugger! ;)
 

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I have the Avey incubator. I love the fact that it's digital and supposed to be "set it and forget it." However, the unit has spiked twice since I have had it and stuck at high temps. I have had to unplug it and leave it unplugged for 24 hours in order to reset it.

Thankfully this happened during the summer, I would hate to think what would have happened to my bp eggs if it had happened during the colder months.

The jury is out on this incubator from my perspective.
 
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