# Polybox incubator in 10 easy steps!



## JamesJ

Id had someone recently ask me how to make their own incubator as and I needed to make a new and bigger one for this year I thought I may aswell take some pictures and do a step by step guide on how to make on for anyone else interested. 

*What I used:*
Polystyrene box (JBPackaging.co.uk £6.96 + P&P) *I used the 25kg long*
Komodo Thermostat Pulse 600w (Surrey pet supplies £29.41 + P&P)
Habistat Heatmat 29"x11" (Surrey pet supplies £13.92 + P&P)
Digital Thermometer (eBay £1.99)
Cake Cooling Rack/s (Wilkinsons £1.50 each)
Cable ties (£1 B&Q)










Screwdriver/s
Kebab skewer (or similar)
Scissors (forgot to get these before I started so weren't pictured)
Wire strippers (forgot to get these before I started so weren't pictured)









*Total cost:* £53.78 (Not including P+P on some items as I cant find invoices but lets round it up to £60)

Step 1 - Place your heatmat in the bottom of your incubator and use a slim screwdriver to make a hole through the box.









Step 2 - Take the plug off the heatmat and thread the wire though the hole youve just made.


















Step 3 - Choose where you want the thermostat to be placed (I personally find it easiest on the side, as if you put it on the lid you cant move the lid too far as it will be attached to the mat inside the box) Use the skewer to make a hole above and below the thermostat and use cable ties to attatch it. I tend to do this twice as you can see in the second picture, and I put them between the cables coming out the bottom of the thermostat so it doesnt move about.



















Step 4 - Take the thermostat probe and push it through the box (if the box is thick push a screwdriver through too to make it easier). I loop the probe cable a few times and cable tie it to make it neater (see 2nd pic if this sounds confusing). Place the thermostat probe where you want it and use the skewer to make two holes to cable tie it in place. _You dont need to secure the probe to the side of the box, some people prefer to sit it in a tub in the incubator, this is just how I do it._ 



















Step 5 - Unscrew the box labeled "heater" socket on the thermostat (which you plug the heat mat into) and shorten the cable and put it back together. This step again is not necessary, I just prefer to have all my cables short and tidy so there are not loose wired hanging around)



















Step 6 - I then shorten the cable on the heatmat (again to keep things neater) and plug it into the "heater" socket on the thermostat. Then use the skewer to make holes in the poly box to secure it into place.



















Step 7 - Push the probe of the digital thermometer through the box and attach the reader to the side of the incubator using the skewer and cable ties. I also cable tie any excess cable from the probe inside the box.










Step 8 - Place your cooling rack in the bottom ontop of the mat, the purpose of this is so the eggs are not sitting directly on the heat source. In my case as im using such a large polybox I needed to use 2 cooling racks or id have alot of unusable space.



















Step 9 - Use scissors to cut all your excess bits of cable ties short.



















Step 10 - Place your incubation tubs into the incubator and your done!! All you need now is eggs!!



















You might want to make the incubator more air tight by sealing the holes inside the incubator around the heatmat cable and the holes from the thermostat and thermometer probe (as the cables are slimmer than the probe head which made the holes). To do this you can use a glue gun, aquarium sealant (remember to let it air out until the smell has gone before putting eggs in the incubator) or bluetack.


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## Crazmanian

Nice Guide was just looking for one the other week on how to set one up.

Quick Question tho what are you using in your egg tubs?


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## JamesJ

It's perlite, we prefer it to vermiculite as it allows for more airflow around the eggs and we don't get mold like we used to get with vermiculite at times.

Edit: Did also mean to put in the original post although £60 seems like alot of money to spend making a DIY incubator you get alot of space for your money compared to something like an exoterra incubator or a lucky reptile herp nursery, you wouldnt get a single royal clutch in one of those! Plus they are not known for their thermostats accuracy where as using a pulse stat keeps the temps very stable


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## blizard87

i was going to say for an extra £30 you can buy a herp nursery BUT you are quite limited for space.looks nice and neat.good post.mite try one my self this year


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## MP reptiles

what size heatmat did you use for the 15 kg one?


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## JamesJ

blizard87 said:


> i was going to say for an extra £30 you can buy a herp nursery BUT you are quite limited for space.looks nice and neat.good post.mite try one my self this year


It's well worth making your own 



MP reptiles said:


> what size heatmat did you use for the 15 kg one?


The one I had for sale wasn't from jbpackaging but if you go on their website they tell you the internal measurements for the boxes so you can work it out


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## mariex4

thats cool. think i may look at getting a couple of those . as next year may breed 2 females depending how these eggs go , ive only bred 1 female this year as dont want to rush into doing more but them boxes are cool . Thanks for shareing


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## rademan08

But what temperature so we set the heatmat to? and what temp do we need the digi thermo to say?
is it vermiculite you use?
do you need to open the lid now and again to get clean air?
do i need to move the eggs?
how long do they take to hatch? (leo eggs)
If you can answer any of these questions id be most grateful. thanks


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## JamesJ

rademan08 said:


> But what temperature so we set the heatmat to? and what temp do we need the digi thermo to say?
> is it vermiculite you use?
> do you need to open the lid now and again to get clean air?
> do i need to move the eggs?
> how long do they take to hatch? (leo eggs)
> If you can answer any of these questions id be most grateful. thanks


The reason I didn't state temps / times is because it varies on what species of eggs your incubating and for incubation medium different people have different preferences/good experience 

Leopard geckos are temperature sexable, so you'd want the temperatures at around 80-82 ºF for mostly females, 88-90 ºF for mostly males and somewhere in the middle for a mixture of both males and females. Above 90 ºF can produce "hot females" who are normal aggressive and will not breed, the eggs generally take 45-60days+ to hatch.

You want these temperatures to be the reading on the digital thermometer, the temperature you set the thermostat to is not always accurate so check them with the thermometer and adjust it up or down until it settles on the correct temperature.

We use pearlite to incubated our eggs as it gives a good air flow around the eggs and we found we sometimes got mould to vermiculite or eco-earth. If the incubation tub is air tight you will need to open the lid for a minute or two once a week or so, or you can make a few small air holes in the tub so you dont need to do this, but you may need to top up the water in the tub as with the air holes some of it will evaporate. The eggs dont need to be moved, infact moving them can kill the embryo, once put in the incubation tub they do not need to be moved or touched.


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## RobbHughes

Very nice guide. Should definitely be stickied! Will be using this to build my own when my stat and mat arrives


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## Teliup

I am planning on breeding my Chinese water dragons, can you put water in the bottom to get the humidity needed ? it looks very tidy looks like il be making one of the, great post


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## JamesJ

To make the humidity go up you can add more water into the tub you incubate the eggs in, but you have to be careful as if its too wet it will evaporate onto the lid and drip on the eggs which can kill them.


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## Teliup

Aaaa ok , so i would just put a humidity meter in the tub then ? Do you just pour more water in the tub if needed then ?


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## Phil75

A great thread and well explained. Nice one.

Phil


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## lewisdark86

as above great post:2thumb:


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## JamesJ

Teliup said:


> Aaaa ok , so i would just put a humidity meter in the tub then ? Do you just pour more water in the tub if needed then ?


Yeah, adding more water will boost the humidty. If your getting issues with too much condensation/droplets of water on the lid of the container while trying to keep the humidity up you can add a deli pot with a lid with some water in, make a few small holes in the lid of the deli pot and push it into the incubation substrate. It helps keep the humidty levels up but with less droplets on the incubation tub lid.

You can use a hygrometer to monitor the levels of humidity, weve have trailed and errored to find out what works best for us rather than using the humidity levels that are reccomended online as most the time they have been too wet, however weve not incubated water dragons eggs so cant talk from experience in this case.



Phil75 said:


> A great thread and well explained. Nice one.
> 
> Phil





lewisdark86 said:


> as above great post:2thumb:


Thanks guys :2thumb:


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## rayyarnold911

top incubator mate im in the process of building one.


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## malia007

can i just ask why a pulse stat and not a mat stat for the heatmat?
great thread, just what i need


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## JamesJ

Pulse stats keep the temperature much more stable :2thumb:


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## AndyJ80

what size incubator tubs are you using? and would 9l RUBs fit?

cheers for the fantastic guide


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## Gecko1977

Is there a certain height you need to be above the heatmat?

Where you placed the probe is that accurate enough for inside the tubs?

Great guide thanks


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## andy1186

Can a mat stat be used for this?
how much would it affect the eggs?

Thanks


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## JamesJ

AndyJ80 said:


> what size incubator tubs are you using? and would 9l RUBs fit?
> 
> cheers for the fantastic guide


9L Rubs wont fit in the size ive used but if you find the measurements of a RUB and look at the internal measurements of the polyboxes on the website one of them fits 2 x 9L rubs in as thats what James uses for the royals, I just cant remember which size it was.



Gecko1977 said:


> Is there a certain height you need to be above the heatmat?
> 
> Where you placed the probe is that accurate enough for inside the tubs?
> 
> Great guide thanks


It doesnt matter how far away the eggs are from the mat as long as there is an airflow gap so the tub is not sat directly on the mat.

You want the probe to be a quarter to halfway up the side of the polybox. Some people place the probes inside the incubation tub with the eggs, but when you check on eggs and the probe is moved it can cause temperatures to fluctuate a little so I prefer my probe fixed to the side. I monitor the temperatures inside the tubs with a digital thermometer.



andy1186 said:


> Can a mat stat be used for this?
> how much would it affect the eggs?
> 
> Thanks


A mat stat can be used but temperature fluctuation will be more significant. I always think its worth spending the extra money on a pulse but its upto you. Fluctuations may cause deformities but they can occur even when using a pulse. It also depends on the species inside the eggs, some are more robust and can cope with temperature fluctuations better than others.


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## Daleos89

What will you be incubating? And what type of tubs is it you are using, are they airtight? When I had corns I used a poly box but just had the medium in the polygon and mat on the lid, I much prefer yours though!


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## adz_gold

Great post ! gonna have a crack at one of these if I can't get hold of an old fridge soon ! :2thumb:


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## JamesJ

Daleos89 said:


> What will you be incubating? And what type of tubs is it you are using, are they airtight? When I had corns I used a poly box but just had the medium in the polygon and mat on the lid, I much prefer yours though!


This was for milksnake and hognose eggs. The tubs are stewards clear / cadbury boxes, the lids are more or less air tight, I usually change the lid for one with a few holes in a week or so before the eggs are due to hatch


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## bison

quality post!! i was just looking into this the other day !!!!!


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## terry2shoes

excellent explanation, i made one of these myself last year and worked a treat for my corn eggs, will be doing the same agin this year for my royals. never even thought of shortning the wires, will do that on mine as they are a royal pain in the ass to manover, thanks for the heads up on that one. :no1:


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## onek

looking for incubator and here we go ,great :2thumb:,lets have a look how it works with royal eggs


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## JamesJ

We used this method with a slightly larger poly box so 2 x 9L RUBs fit in it and incubated royal eggs in them with no issues  All hatched :no1:


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## McKella

I've just made one out of a undercounter glass fronted fridge used heat cable with it, all in has cost me about £90ish quid and can fit 6/8 shoe box size tubs in


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## onek

Just gr8 very easy to make and all my royals,21 eggs hatched :no1:


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