the best incubator

[roger]

Im looking for an incuabator that has stable temps.anyone have the reptibator 5000.what other incubators are good

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

I love my nature spirits. We also use a MR-148 with great success. It all depends on how much you want to spend and the quantity of eggs your are going to need to incubate.

 

[justindh1]

If I was you I would make my own incubator. You already have the thermostat. All you need is heat tape and a small refrigeration. If you have a coke or pepsi plant (or something similar) around you then I would goto them and see it they have a small refrigerator with a glass door that doesn't work. They have them all over the place in there warehouse generally.

 

[roger]

If I was you I would make my own incubator. You already have the thermostat. All you need is heat tape and a small refrigeration. If you have a coke or pepsi plant (or something similar) around you then I would goto them and see it they have a small refrigerator with a glass door that doesn't work. They have them all over the place in there warehouse generally.

everyone i talk to says they cant keep the temps stable.i was looking at getting the reptipro 5000

 

[acpart]

I have the reptipro5000 and in general it has been good. One thing to watch out for (and I've posted about this extensively on another thread, you just have to look for it): it seems that when the ambient temperature changes drastically, the temp setting in the reptipro needs to be changed as well. The reason seems to be that the heating and cooling functions don't come on in the same way (I'm not explaining it very well, but that's what we've come up with). My incubator at the moment is set to 84. The temp readout on the machine is 80-81 and the temps are stable at about 82.6 give or take .5 degrees. If you have air conditioning in the summer so your ambient temp is roughly the same, you shouldn't have any problems. I don't, so when it gets really hot, my living room temp is about 89 and then I have to turn the incubator setting down to about 79-80 (instead of 84) to maintain the correct temps.

Aliza

 

[Northstar Herp]

I wouldn't do the MR-148 unless you just want an enclosed shelf to hold the containers. I know several folks who have bought them and they crapped out on them the first season. That includes myself.

I strongly side with Justin. What exactly is an incubator? It's a well insulated box of some sort, a heat source, and temp control. Make a box or get an old fridge, buy a high quality thermostat and run some heat tape. An old fridge will be better insulated than any herp bator sold, and put a herpstat on it. Just run a fan if you see a lot of temp gradient. Heat tape and something to provide some thermal mass and you're good to go.

 

[gixxer3420]

Natures Spirit Incubators are by far the best in my opinion.

 

[justindh1]

everyone i talk to says they cant keep the temps stable.i was looking at getting the reptipro 5000

I have mine set on 84.5 degrees and it fluctuates from 84.3 to 84.8 at the most with the fan running.

 

[roger]

I wouldn't do the MR-148 unless you just want an enclosed shelf to hold the containers. I know several folks who have bought them and they crapped out on them the first season. That includes myself.

I strongly side with Justin. What exactly is an incubator? It's a well insulated box of some sort, a heat source, and temp control. Make a box or get an old fridge, buy a high quality thermostat and run some heat tape. An old fridge will be better insulated than any herp bator sold, and put a herpstat on it. Just run a fan if you see a lot of temp gradient. Heat tape and something to provide some thermal mass and you're good to go.

if i do a simple styrofoam incubator i wont need a fan for that would I ?

 

[Northstar Herp]

IDK, a lot of people like to use fans so it distributes the heat evenly and you don't get hot spots as much. I think if you put a nice big container of water in the bottom, then it after hitting target temp it would stabilize things pretty well and you might not need a fan.

 

[RAlbrecht]

Just a head up about the "Reptipro" ... its a mini-fridge/warmer .... MR-148 is the model of this item and if you just google it you will get a ton of mini-fridge sites.

 

[roger]

If I was you I would make my own incubator. You already have the thermostat. All you need is heat tape and a small refrigeration. If you have a coke or pepsi plant (or something similar) around you then I would goto them and see it they have a small refrigerator with a glass door that doesn't work. They have them all over the place in there warehouse generally.[/QU

thks