Incubators: How to build your own

I have noticed a few members discussing buying and saving up for commerical incubators. I thought I would make a thread instructing you on how to make your own incubator for a very cheap price!

There are several different ways that this can be done, I will be discussing two that I have built and used successfully (One for a uni breeding project and one for my personal breeding).

First one is the one that I built and used for my uni breeding project:

• Styrofoam/polystryrene box with a lid - You can pick these up from most DIY stores or on the internet (i.e. ebay) for around £10 for less. Pet stores that sell frozen food usually get them delivered in good sized styrofoam boxes and they are usually cool with giving them away
  

• Bamboo sticks - These are used to suspend the eggs off the ground so they are not too close to the heat source and dry out or overheat. You can pick these up fairly cheap from most garden stores.
  

Mat-stats are recommended with use with heat mats and not dimming thermostat.

• Heat mat - Depending on the size of your incubator which size you wish to buy.
  
• Thermostat - This is to control the tempatures of the heat mat.
  

• Tub - This can be made out of lunch boxes (with air holes drilled in) or empty cricket tubs work well.
  

• Vermiculite
  

• Dish of water (this is to keep a good humidity levels)
  

Right once you have all of these items:

1. Stick the bamboo sticks through the incubator box, make sure it is about 2/3's off the floor of the box.

2. Place the heat mat at the bottom of the box and attached to a thermostat.

3. Place the bowl of water on the bottom of the box, not directly on the heat mat if possible.

4. Moisten the vermiculite so it is moist and not soggy!

5. Add the eggs!!

The second one is the one that I use at home for my personal breeding project:

Alot of the items are the same as the other incubator build..

• Styrofoam/Polystyrene Box
  

• Brick or slate rock - I borrowed mine out of my garden
  

• Submersable Aquarium Heaters - You can pick these up from most garden/aquatics/pet shops for about £4.99. These have a built in thermostat but it is best to have a seperate probe thermometre as well to make sure the temps in the egg tubs are correct!!!
  

• Empty livefood tub
  
• Vermiculite
  

1. Get your Styrofoam box

2. Place the brick in the middle of the box.

3. Fill the incubator with water, but not enough to submerge the brick!!!

4. Place the aquarium heater in the box and submerged under water.

5. Fill up your tub with moist vermiculite.

6. Put the tub on the brick.

7. Set your temps and add a probe thermometer into the tub. It might take a few adjustments to get your temps right but once you do you are good to go!! The aquarium heater heats the water and keeps it at a certain temps, and not thermostat is not controlling the temps in the tub. So trial and error! It is best you set this up before any egglaying occurs

8. Put the lid!

wow thanks this is great

Which one do you think works best?

also, in the first incubator, how to get to the bowl of water once you have begun incubation to refill it.. because i thought it might dry up with contact heat?

you don't need a thermostat for the underwater aquarium heater? how do you control it if it's too hot/cold?

gothicgurrrl wrote:wow thanks this is great

Which one do you think works best?

also, in the first incubator, how to get to the bowl of water once you have begun incubation to refill it.. because i thought it might dry up with contact heat?

you don't need a thermostat for the underwater aquarium heater? how do you control it if it's too hot/cold?

They both work equally well I think it is easier to control the temps with the first one being a heat mat on a thermostat.

To refill the water, carefully remove the boxes and replace the water.... and put the boxes back asap and the lid of course!

And for the underwater aquarium heater has a built in thermostat, there is a little knob where you can choose your temps

ooooh i like both of them I wouldn't know which to choose. I like the first one the best at the moment because it's so simply and cheap.. but the second probably costs less because you got need to buy a thermostat for the first (because they are like £30 almost). How much are those underwater aquarium heaters?

I'm planning to do something to do with genetics and breeding leos for my uni final exam thingie in the future.. so I want to practice and learn as much as I can before then.. I have 4 years

gothicgurrrl wrote:. How much are those underwater aquarium heaters?

I'm planning to do something to do with genetics and breeding leos for my uni final exam thingie in the future.. so I want to practice and learn as much as I can before then.. I have 4 years

The aquarium heaters are about £4.99 but I got given mine for free as they had a spare one laying around in the shop I think they are both fairly simple and they both work really well

I might do a project as well for my disseration, morphs are so fasincating!! Jordan needs to tutor me tho

haha yeah he needs to tutor me, too!

You are so lucky that you get to work in a reptile shop.. did they just like you so much from your work experience that they offered you a job? there's a reptile shop an hours drive away from me, I could do volunteer work.. but my brother would make me pay him for petrol to the town I just want more experience.

I'm getting quite excited about the idea of breeding.. my mack snow mated with the super snow albino i'm buying off jordan oooo!

Thanks for this info Becca. I am wanting to try at least one incubation cos I would love to raise a baby leo or two. Going to wait until my female is 18 mths old tho and she is only 9 mths now so still a long way to go.