incubator ideas

[amv123]

hi i was wondering if anyone out ther had some good techniques in making a cheap home incubator. I set one up for now howeve i do not know if it will actually work. i have a tuppware the size of about a shoebox. i put sand on the bottom and a mini undertank heater buried about halfway into the sand. then a tupperware with vermiculite ontop of the sand. the thermometer i have in the tupperware with vermiculite says it is 83 degrees pretty much all trhough the day however today it was knocked on its side so it was lying on the vermiculite and it said about 88. does this mean it actually too hot?. and if anyone has better incubator idea it will be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

[spykerherps]

A fridge or mini fridge, used broken ones are cheep or free. invest in a good thermostat plug some heat tape into it and place the heat tape in the back of the fridge. if you want to get fancier(and work better) then you could get a small computer fan and drill a hole in the back or side of the fridge and attach fan for air flow. make sure to drill a couple small holes some were in the fridge so as to let incoming air in from the fan blowing air out. I put a false back in my inc.-fridge to cover heat tape and left some room at the top of the inside for heat to escape. in the end it works much the same way the Natures Spirit incubator does. which I have as well and both work great.
the only thing the fridge doesn't have is the clear door. so I have to resist the urge to open it too much to check for hatchlings.

 

[amv123]

any criticism on the setup i presently have. i really have no clue ifit will work or not and any other incubator ideas out there? all the advice is appreciated thanks

 

[Isis]

If the temperature is fairly stable and humidity at good level than every setup is good... or at least I think so

 

[amv123]

any other advice on my current setup?

 

[Airilith]

Really if the temps are stable then its a 'good' setup.

Personally I use a cooler with a UTH inside it. I also keep two jars of water to help keep temps stable. My temps stay in a range of 1-2 degrees. It's not the prettiest thing, but all of my babies have hatched healthy, so its great. The only thing I would change about my setup is to put a window in it. And I plan on doing that after this season.

 

[amv123]

if i was to use a cooler and uth should i just put the heater in the cooler and just let it sit in there should i place it at the bottom? also are there any other ideas out there

 

[Airilith]

My uth just sits in the bottom of the cooler (next to the jars of water). And of course the uth is hooked to my thermostat.