# DIY Incubator for beginners.



## jimmydale (Aug 3, 2010)

Hi all, I know that there are plenty of DIY incubators out there but here is one I made today and a few hints for anyone who is looking to make their own. This is just a basic model, suitable for a keeper with only one clutch of eggs to incubate this year. 

Firstly you will need:



a drill
a polystyrene box
a heat mat
a thermostat
some plastic egg crate
some aluminium egg crate (not essential)
Some twin wall poly carbonate
a spare tupperware
vermiculite



cut your piece of plastic egg crate to fit inside your tupperware. The egg crate is important to ensure your eggs to not spend the next few months sitting in wet vermiculite. More breeders are opting for this now and there are some premade incubator boxes available with a plastic mesh - doing it this way is much cheaper. If you don't have plastic egg crate, ask in your local marine fish shop if they have a spare offcut. You will only need a small bit. 



Now cut a piece of aluminium egg crate (this may be hard to find - I got mine out of an office ceiling vent). Place the egg crate on top of your heat mat, this will go between the tupperware and the heat mat. It will serve a few purposes, ir prevents direct contact with the heat mat meaning that if there is a problem with your stat or if you leave the lid off your incubator then your heat mat won't turn up too high and cook your eggs. The aluminium egg crate also serves as a kind of radiator with air spaces which gives nice gentle heat dispersal. 



Now you can position your tupperware inside the poly box. Note that the thermostat probe enters the tupperware through a hole drilled in the side. Some people choose to put the probe through the lid of the box but this can cause problems. If you leave the lid off for too long or even forget to put it back on then your heat mat will get hotter, possibly too hot for your eggs and kill them. Ensure your probe cannot easily be removed from the tupperware. I have also tied the probe cable to the inside of the poly box with garden wire to prevent too much movement. I have placed the probe just into the vermiculite, you may wish to lie it on top or go deeper into the substrate. As long as you can maintain a consistent correct temperature for the eggs, it doesn't matter exactly how you position the probe. You will note in this photo that the tupperware is actually sitting on plastic blocks. This is eco hoarding board, you can use wood instead. This is an alternative to the aluminium egg crate to prevent direct contact with the heat mat. 



Finally, a lid for the tupperware. I have chosen not to use the lid that came on my tupperware for two reasons. Firstly it was white, meaning I could not easily see into it. Secondly, they can be difficult to take off without disturbing the eggs. Because of this, I have used a small piece of twin wall poly carbonate held down with blu tac. It is now easy to remove and easy to look through without disturbing the eggs. 

Once you have made your incubator, simply set your stat to your desired temperature, check with a thermometer and adjust until you have reached your target temperature. Make sure these adjustments are made before you put your eggs in. If you have an idea what date your eggs are due then it is worth having the incubator set up and running at the correct temperature a week ahead of this, that way you reduce the chances of the eggs being too hot / cold for long. 

This will be a reliable little incubator that can be stored and used again next year. I made it entirely out of pieces I has spare so it cost me nothing but even if you had to buy the components it is still a pretty cheap incubator. What's more, it looks well sciencey. Surely an after dinner conversation piece. 

Hope this has been useful, happy breeding.


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