Good beginning breeding set-up?

[bethanboys]

Okay - so after stalking these threads the past month I've gotten some good ideas but still I feel no where near knowledagble enough.
I have lots of time though, I don't plan to jump into breeding until next year probably.
On limited funds so I can't buy everything at once. I plan on slowly buying all of the parts and pieces over the next few months.

First on the list I think will be my incubator since my birthday is in a couple months and this (may?) be the most $$ in one shot of all the things I'll need?

I can't do one of the nicer $400-$500 incubators like I'd like to. My plan is to eventually save up for one of those, should I start getting more into breeding and decide it's something I want to get really serious about.

So I've decided on the Hovabator (with thermal flow, correct?) and using a Herpstat ND thermostat.

Is that a good enough combination for the beginner breeder wanting to just start dabbling in it?

What would be the next most expensive thing to get? The rack/heating set up? I think I read that you could expect to spend around $200 for that. hmmm I only plan on starting with just a couple females and one male most likely. We'll see.

And again, if it's something I end up really liking then I'll go bigger and better.

Thanks!

 

[Nigel4less]

My biggest expense was my incubator set up with a Thermal Air Flow Hovabator,Hatchrite Incubation Substrate,and my Helix DBS 1000 Thermostat Controller. But it sounds like your off to a good start. And if you cant afford your rack at once you could get away with tanks. What I do is I use shelves to put my glass tanks on but I plan to expanding to a drawer system soon.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Your incubator will be the least of your expense

hovabotor NO thermal flow $50
Thermostat $50-129 (depending on what you get) X 2 One for incubator and one for hatchling rack
Rack Hatchling with heat for only 30 babies (2 females with a somewhat average season) $180 X 3 = $540 without the bins

yes you can go with tanks, 10 gallon tank $10 plus heat $10 per pair of babies up to 4 - 6 weeks then you still need a rack or 1 tank per baby

 

[bethanboys]

Oh yes that was the NO thermal air flow.

When I said incubator, I mean the total with the incubator AND thermostat (I said I had pretty much decided on the Herpstat ND which is around $135). That would be around $185 for that combo.

Also, I'm new to this and still learning (which is why I said I will not be ready for breeding until at least next year) - but do you need the $130 thermostat for the hatchling/gecko rack? (and are hatchlings put on seperate racks from older geckos because they need a different heat variable?) Or can you get a more "basic" thermostat for the gecko rack.
The reason I went with the Herpstat ND choice for the incubator is because I wanted to find something that was more reliable with very little degree change.

As for the racks/tanks. That is something I'd be buying in bits and pieces. I think for now we're just going to go with tanks. We have so many 10 gallons already. And we'll buy the heat and extra tanks bit by bit. Although eventually, a rack system with bins may end up being much more space effective.

Obviously we won't be breeding until everything is in place. This is going to be a slow process.

 

[LeopardGeckoMom52688]

Well next year will be my first year breeding more then one female. I bought a rack for my adults for 100 at the most, and I think 50 for my heat tape and I wired it myself, used a kinda cheap thermostat (works). I got if for free but I kno they go for like 25 dollars. My Thermostat works for two items (my heat tape and a undertank heater for my crested right now. My rack houses 12 geckos. On top I have a 20 gallon long for my african fat tailed gecko, and a exo terra tank for my crested I don't have a incubator. But I kno there is a site you can get the incubator for 50 inculding vermiulite and tubs. And as far as 30 babies. You may. I bred one female this year, got 16 eggs, two healthy babies, one blind. So I think I might get 30 next year with breeding 9 females to 3 males. One male to one female (my blizzards) and male to 2 females (normals) And another male to the other 6 females (male albino to super hypos, snows, and a normal with slite carroting in the tail). Just a little insite!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Oh yes that was the NO thermal air flow.

When I said incubator, I mean the total with the incubator AND thermostat (I said I had pretty much decided on the Herpstat ND which is around $135). That would be around $185 for that combo.

Also, I'm new to this and still learning (which is why I said I will not be ready for breeding until at least next year) - but do you need the $130 thermostat for the hatchling/gecko rack? (and are hatchlings put on seperate racks from older geckos because they need a different heat variable?) Or can you get a more "basic" thermostat for the gecko rack.
The reason I went with the Herpstat ND choice for the incubator is because I wanted to find something that was more reliable with very little degree change.

As for the racks/tanks. That is something I'd be buying in bits and pieces. I think for now we're just going to go with tanks. We have so many 10 gallons already. And we'll buy the heat and extra tanks bit by bit. Although eventually, a rack system with bins may end up being much more space effective.

Obviously we won't be breeding until everything is in place. This is going to be a slow process.

I would go with a helix for the incubator a little less but not much.

You can use cheaper thermostats with the racks if you are home to check the temps a few times a day, which I am. The cheaper thermostats are on/off types and the on/off part of them can burn out and cause problems like mass over heating or no heat at all, the over heating would be much worse, but as long as you are there to check temps say 2-3 times a day you would catch a burn out of the thermostat and hopefully before there is a problem.

A rack is really cheaper than tanks, all of the tanks will need heat and if you add them a few at a time thats all new heat sizes and thermostats to go with the different sizes of heat. A thermostat only works with the same length and watt of heat sources to add more than one to each thermostat.

If you can;t afford to buy a rack with heat, you can build a decent rack with plywood and some braces to avoid warping and drooping in the center 4' tall by 4' wide for about $15 for the wood and $80 for the heat tape and then 40 $1 bins and a thermostat.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Well next year will be my first year breeding more then one female. I bought a rack for my adults for 100 at the most, and I think 50 for my heat tape and I wired it myself, used a kinda cheap thermostat (works). I got if for free but I kno they go for like 25 dollars. My Thermostat works for two items (my heat tape and a undertank heater for my crested right now. My rack houses 12 geckos. On top I have a 20 gallon long for my african fat tailed gecko, and a exo terra tank for my crested I don't have a incubator. But I kno there is a site you can get the incubator for 50 inculding vermiulite and tubs. And as far as 30 babies. You may. I bred one female this year, got 16 eggs, two healthy babies, one blind. So I think I might get 30 next year with breeding 9 females to 3 males. One male to one female (my blizzards) and male to 2 females (normals) And another male to the other 6 females (male albino to super hypos, snows, and a normal with slite carroting in the tail). Just a little insite!

yes incubator is $50 for the bare minumim hovabator without shiping or a thermostat.

So still you spent $150 for a rack for a few adults without a thermostat?

How much will your hatchling rack be for 120 babies?

You can only use the same thermostat if the watts and length of the heat are the same, you should not plug in 4' of heat tape then 2' of heat tape on the same thermostat.

Just because you had a bad sesaon with 1 female does not mean that is the norm.

Just a little insight:
With 9 females and average of 8 clutches 16 eggs X 9 females = 144 babies , you will probably have 10% infertile and 10% non hatching so thats still 116 hatchlings to care for, house and feed which will need racks and thermostat and does anyone really want 100 plus 10 gallon tanks with heat and thermostats sitting around?

 

[gko reptiles]

I agree with Wendy. 30 babies for 9 females is REALLY low. We had one female just one lay 18 clutches that all hatched... thats 36 babies for ONE female. Well its just that you never know factor. Oh and for building your own rack I personally think it is the way to go if you are trying to save money. This is one I think with heat-tape, bins, and wood cost I think $250. Not bad for a 30bin adult rack with heat.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

GKO, looking at your racks I realized that I forgot about all the cost for dishes for cali, food, water, humid hides, substrate etc.

Great racks BTW, they are really nice set ups!

 

[dprince]

Great looking racks, Christine and Phillip!!

Actually, I have used the Hovabator with no thermostat with no problems. But I definitely recommend the Helix for your racks - you don't want to mess around with that and accidentally cook your geckos.

I agree, you're going to have a lot of babies, so prepare yourself. You're gonna need more racks. If you can build them yourself (or have someone handy do it for you), you'll save money there. But you will need a thermostat for each one unless, like Wendy says, your racks are the same exact size with the same heat tape set up. Helix thermostats are about $130 each. Not cheap, but worth it when you consider the alternative.