Incubator Questions

[noahspets]

Ok, so I have looked through a ton of incubator threads and quite frankly all they are doing is confusing me. Can someone get me plans on turning an old fridge into an incubator. It has to be suitable for kingsnake, corn snake, rat snake and beardie eggs. Thanks everyone.

[JDouglas]

Remove all unneccesary parts from fridge to lower weight.
Line the sides with heat tape controlled by a thermostat.
Install a fan to circulate air(optional) to even temps throughout.
Put eggs in plastic tubs with vermiculite.
Put tubs in fridge and close the door.
Read temps with an indoor/outdoor thermostat.

It can be as simple or as difficult as you want it to be.

[noahspets]

Ok, Where can i buy heat tape.

[mykee]

Jaremy, you just saved someone from doing needless research. That's as simple as it gets too.

[JDouglas]

Thanks Mykee.
I don't know how to get heat tape in Canada since I am in the U.S. but I'm sure some one else can tell you.

[mykee]

www.beanfarm.com or www.bigappleherp.com Just a start. Do a search, you'll find others.

[crocdoc]

if you don't want to go through the hassle of trying to find heat tape, go to your local hardware store and get some light globe fittings and some 15w red coloured incandescent 'party' globes. If you can get a dimming thermostat, the bulbs will last for ages (mine are still going after a year and a half without a single replacement).

[noahspets]

Thanks guys. Is it necessary to line the front, backj and both sides of the fridge or just the sides.

[K1LOS]

im guessing with bulbs that a fan is mandatory? Wouldn't they create major hot spots?

Geoff

[crocdoc]

The light bulbs I use are 15 watt bulbs and they are used in conjunction with a dimming thermostat, so even at 15 watts they are rarely on at full capacity unless I open the door and let cool air in.

Also, I have 'separator' shelves between the light bulbs and the egg boxes - essentially a pvc sheet with many small holes drilled in. The pvc absorbs most of the heat and radiates it fairly evenly.

The downside to using light bulbs, of course, is that they take up more room than heat tape. I am sure that with a bit of reworking, I could probably get an extra egg shelf in there by replacing the bulbs with heat tape. The upside is that they are very inexpensive, last forever (if used in conjunction with a dimming thermostat, that is - I'm still using the same four cheap bulbs I first put in that incubator over two years ago) and you can tell when they aren't working as they cease to produce light.

As for fans, I can't use a fan with a dimming thermostat so I have to go without. This means that the upper shelf is 1C warmer than the lower shelf, causing clutches to hatch 30-40 days earlier on the upper shelf. If I get two clutches and put the later clutch on the upper shelf, I can get both clutches to hatch at almost the same time. This year I screwed that up by getting three clutches, so two will hatch at close to the same time but one clutch will be on its own. One of those has just hatched a week ago: