# Making My Own Incubator



## tortoiseholly (Dec 22, 2007)

Ok I plan on making my own incubator tommorrow for my two horsfield tortoise eggs laid today : victory:. Ok here is the plan so far - any advice etc appreciated - I'll be buying a heat mat (what wattage would you advise - I want the temps at about 30 - a thermostat for the heat mat - having never used a heat mat nor thermostat before I take it that somewhere the heat mat will plug in or somehow have a socket to be connected to the heat mat or would I need to buy something extra for this?:blush: - Ive got digital thermometers, hygrometers etc - apart from the obvious like vermiculite, poly box etc, can anyone think of anything else that I may need?


----------



## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

polybox
heatmat
thermostat
thermometer
(hygrometer)
eggbox (cadbury box or similar)
vermiculite

you need a heatmat that will sit in the base or lid of the polybox. It doesn't need to be powerful, but it does need to be above the minimum wattage for the stat. A pulse stat is probably best but a matstat (on/off) will do.

put the matstat on the bottom or lid and plug into the thermostat. Plug the thermostat in and put the probe near the eggbox. Leave to stabilise for a day or so.

Fill eggbox with damp vermiculite add eggs and watch for ages.

Make sure the eggbox has some airholes. Ideally you should see some condensation, but it shouldn't drip. Be careful when opening that you don't get water on the eggs. If you need to add water, drip it sparingly in a corner away from the eggs. I never found much use for a hygrometer

good luck with the tortoise eggs. I never heard of people breeding tortoises before.


----------



## Declan123 (Dec 29, 2007)

Heres mine...
























Hope it helps

Dec


----------



## tortoiseholly (Dec 22, 2007)

Thanks so much guys thats really helped me - I now have a better idea of what Im doing. Once again BIG thank you xxx: victory:


----------



## tortoiseholly (Dec 22, 2007)

Hi there, 

Is this the thermostat that I'd need? xxx

Habistst Pulse Proportional Thermostat on eBay, also, Reptiles, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 09-May-08 20:45:55 BST)


----------



## Tina (Apr 9, 2007)

Have you thought about using a hovabator? 

Incubators & Hygrometers | hova | Kimbos Reptile World

That stat is right though if that's the route you decide to go down.


----------



## tortoiseholly (Dec 22, 2007)

Hiya, Ive been and bought thermostat from pet shop - Ive now set incubator up and have temps at 31.0, if I had realised the incubators were that cheap Id probably have bought one but sad as it may sound I feel well chuffed with myself that Ive set it all up myself!! Lets just hope that these ickle eggys have some little gems inside......


----------



## Tina (Apr 9, 2007)

Good luck with them : victory:

Keep us posted on how things progress.


----------



## Neonius (Jul 23, 2006)

Would this kind of homemade incubator suffice for bearded dragon eggs?


----------



## Emz118 (Nov 22, 2006)

Absolutely! We've only used ours for Leo eggs but have heard of lots of people using for BD eggs.

Ours is very slightly different to Declan123's, in that our heatmat is taped inside the lid and the egg tub is directly on the base of the polybox. (Saved making horrible squeaky noises making extra holes in the polybox! LOL)


----------

