Homemade Incubator?

[AntMan612]

HJ - Nicely put! That's pretty much what I'm thinking. Also, from an ethical perpective, I want to ensure I have a setup giving the eggs the best chance of survival. I have a small "market" for the offspring right now, but maybe not long term. So, I don't think I need anything elaborate......yet.

 

[GeckoGathering]

What kind of incubator does a gecko use?

Anthony, exactly my thoughts, when I bought my first 2 $15 each geckos.....I was determined to hatch eggs for less than what the geckos cost. And as I did get them to hatch. I got hooked on the gecko kids........then I bought an incubator. Take care all. HJ

 

[AntMan612]

Design Phase II

This is the latest evolution of my DIY incubator utilizing a UTH and 10-gal aquarium. I abandoned the styrofoam cooler design, because I wasn't comfortable with the fire risk. What do you think?

 

[bitterbeauty]

Sand might be a better heat conductor than the water bottles? I dunno.

 

[Haroldo]

Sand might be a better heat conductor than the water bottles? I dunno.

The idea with basins of water is to stabilize temperatures in the incubator (i.e. when you open an incubator, the "draft" of incoming air affects the air temperature inside). Including water basins (in this case water bottles), allows the incubator to return to the set temperature more quickly, since it takes a considerable amount of energy to change water's temperature- even more so with larger bodies of water...

 

[goReptiles]

The new incubator doesn't look like it would keep the temps stable even with the water bottles.... But it's no where near the fire hazard as the other one...

 

[mynewturtle]

This is a quote from a well knowledgeable breeder from a Canadian forum:



"Millions of eggs have been hatched in Hovabators... firstly chicken and quail eggs, and secondly reptile eggs..
I've never owned one, as I'm in the instrumentation business and have been making my own for almost 30 years...

The reality is that not everyone is handy, or the inventor type, or an electrician.
Put something in a box, call it an incubator and people will buy them, and that is the entire legacy of Hovabators in Herpetoculture... They were available when nothing else was, and this remains the case today.

I agree with Pogue, that they are far too small to be of much use for snake eggs, unless its only one or two small clutches. But sure, lots of new hobbiests and youngsters have enjoyed hatching birds or Leos in Hovabators.

I will comment on the gutts of Hovabators which are really a pretty darn good bi-metal wafer thermostat. It's simply two pieces of dissimilar metal built into a bellows, that expands or contracts with temperature changes and inturn pushes on the piston of a very sensitive micro switch. The micro switch, then turns the heater on and off... Basic and simple, but they take quite a while to stabilize. The metal on the bellows, is large to control with very slight changes in temp, however since it's a 3 inch diameter disc, that is a lot of metal to heat up and cool down, so the settling time is hours. The ones with fans, will reach the set temp quicker.. There should be no problem with the fan drying substrate as you shouldn't have substrate in them.. The substrate should always be a a separate egg container...

Over time, metal fatigue can alter the switch point, and the micro switch can eventually become defective, either the contacts, or the spring actuator... like any mechanical moving part, there is a limited life cycle.
However they should cycle reliably many thousands of times. The basic thermostat and wafer are sold separately and very inexpensive

I've done a few talks on incubator design over the years, and once built a basic demo model as a prop to be used with one of these talks.. Rather than using electronics, which is my usual design, I wanted something more basic for demostration purposes.
I simply ordered the wafer thermostat and installed it in a wooden box, with sliding plexiglass doors, a small fan ,heat tape etc...
It worked just fine.
The thermostats have a differential(on/off swing) of under a degree F, so they are quite capable of being more than stable enough to hatch snake eggs.
The entire fundamentals of the operation of the thermostat is tried and proven and still the mainstay of all basic temperature controls.
Bi-metal thermostats work... they have to, it's basic physics. Providing the adjustable parts don't get knocked or moved with vibration, once set up and stabilized, they control quite well... They do have fairly long thermal delays, due to the mass of the metal... The bigger the sensor, the longer it takes to heat up and cool down... but once they are stable, they should operate quite well.
I suspect the cause for some problems people experience is that they don't bother to lock the wing nut on the adjuster.. Once you have found your set point and its working, you need to lock the adjuster by tightening the wing nut.. If that isn't done, vibrations can result in the adjuster moving and shifting your temperature.

But, the styrofoam box...Just not big enough for herpers.. But remember , they are made for classroom operation etc. to hatch chicken eggs in science class.

If you're the handy type, buy the thermostat and put it in your own box, but once again that requires wiring and some knowledge of electrical principles. This is not something everyone will or should do.

Many colubrid, gecko and dragon eggs can and have been hatched simply by putting them on a shelf in the herp room. A great many species will hatch under such conditions even with ten degree shifts in temperature..

Despite my pile of incubators which run all year around, I still run out of room and just leaves eggs in my herp room... I hatched corns and hognose and everglade rats that way this year.. No incubator at all.
The most important thing with hatching most eggs, is the correct humidity, and this accomplished easily by using moist sphagnum, vermiculite or perlite in a sealed or nearly sealed container..

The egg box, and contents, is the big key to hatching eggs... this is far more important than a heated enclosure...

An old standby method for incubating herp eggs, equally as successful as Hovabators, is a water reservoir, such as a pickle jar, with an aquarium heater in it, this in turn, put into a cooler or just a previously used fish shipping styro to hold the heat in.
It takes a while for these water reservoir type systems to stabilize, due to the time it takes to heat the mass of the water, but once they are at your set point, they should maintain it quite well , at least until you open them.

Hovabators are OK... They aren't ideal of most herpers, but they're one of many possible tools and for those that aren't inclined to build, in many cases they are all that is available.


Here's the heart of the basic Hovabator... The wafer thermostat"


This gives a few idea's.

Good luck..

 

[Fanner]

Quote "mynewturtule" : "An old standby method for incubating herp eggs, equally as successful as Hovabators, is a water reservoir, such as a pickle jar, with an aquarium heater in it, this in turn, put into a cooler or just a previously used fish shipping styro to hold the heat in."

Cool, that is exactly what I have been using ~ and really, it has been working great so far :main_thumbsup:

 

[AntMan612]

RE: Quote from the Canadian forum

Thanks so much for forwarding that information. I've been looking for a logical assessment of the Hova-Bator for some time. It's design concept just seemed too simplistic to be "worth the money." But it's logical that off-the-shelf items would become more popular because of convenience. I compare it to the marketing of manufactured moist hides selling for $20+. We could make them out of clay for pennies, given a bit of "craftiness."

:main_thumbsup: THANKS!

 

[AntMan612]

Eggs

Thanks everyone for your input as I designed this incubator. I have since switched to heat cable versus the UTH and added styrofoam insulation panels around the walls and top. The panels are easy to remove for inspections.

Lizzie left me 2 presents when I got home from work; she was grinning suspiciously when I looked in her tank. But, judging by her reaction, she wasn't too happy that I found her hiding spot.

:main_yes: