I made an incubator out of a foam tub and heat cable. The humidity is fine, 80%. The thing I'm having trouble with is the temps. At first the cable was taped on the sides all the way around, then half way (it got too hot) and then a little less than half. So, then it got too cold! I put the cable around the egg box and it got too hot. My female is due to lay this weekend and I thought I had it right! I'm not worried though, I have a back-up plan (actually 2 back-up plans). Anyways, any advice (preferably from someone who has made a leopard gecko incubator before)? :smug2:
Homemade incubator?
- Thread starter leolover7
- Start date
Yah, it's correct too. I tested it.
Terrain_pull up
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It's mainly a trial and error process to get it set up just right. It can take a few days of tinkering with the thermostat to get things just right. Try something and then let is sit for 8hrs or so and see how it stabilizes.
I started out with a foam cooler incubator as well but a different heating method. Try maybe running the heat cable on the bottom of the cooler and then placing some water bottles on top of the cable to act as heat ballasts. The water bottles will help to stabilize temperature spikes when the heat cable is activated by the thermostat. After adding some water ballast though I'd let the incubator sit for an entire day before readjusting the thermostat. It will take awhile for the water bottles to become the same temp as inside the incubator.
I still use homemade incubators with success but they do require the occasional tweaking based on room temperature changes especially when the seasons start changing like right around this time of year
I started out with a foam cooler incubator as well but a different heating method. Try maybe running the heat cable on the bottom of the cooler and then placing some water bottles on top of the cable to act as heat ballasts. The water bottles will help to stabilize temperature spikes when the heat cable is activated by the thermostat. After adding some water ballast though I'd let the incubator sit for an entire day before readjusting the thermostat. It will take awhile for the water bottles to become the same temp as inside the incubator.
I still use homemade incubators with success but they do require the occasional tweaking based on room temperature changes especially when the seasons start changing like right around this time of year
I'll try that. I had the cable on the bottom, but it got way too hot.
Terrain_pull up
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If you can rig up some kind of shelf basically to keep your egg containers suspended off the water bottles and heat cable so it's basically just the heated air inside the incubator that is surrounding your egg containers things should stabilize a bit more. I found doing it this way I just use one separate temp proble to monitor "air temps in incubator", which is what ideally it should then be in your egg containers as well, and then the thermostat temp probe stays only touching the heat cable. This way if the desired air temperature changes a degree or two you just adjust your heat source accordingly.
Not really. They are $60 and I was going to buy one but I was like "What if I NEVER need it again?" So, yah. And it's too late. I don't have money for it (got other leo stuff to put my money into) and my female is due to lay eggs on the weekend and I can't wait for shipping.
Neon Aurora
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I actually think building a homemade incubator was quite fun and inexpensive. =) Only cost me about 10 dollars, but I used mostly stuff I already had around the house. Mine is a styrofoam cooler with a regular heat pad inside it regulated by a thermostat I had lying around. I had trouble with the temperatures for a while too, but I ended up elevating my incubation container and I put four water bottles in there and now even when I open the lid the temperature stays between 82 an 83.
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