# incubators, forgiving/automatic



## NEtorts (Apr 29, 2011)

what are yalls experience with incubators? is it worth it to buy an expensive, high end incubator? I'd like to invest in one but would like one with the bells and whistles simply because sometimes i am out of town for a day or two and dont want to have to worry about adding water or whatever.... any suggestions?


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## Tom (Apr 29, 2011)

I'm using three different types right now. Little Giant, Hovabator and Zoo-Med. They all work great, with no problems and very little maintenance. I some times let them go a week or two with nothing more than a daily glance at the thermometer. I have to say that the Hovabator is my current favorite. Its cheaper than the Zoo-Med one, taller inside than the Little Giant, cheap and very reliable.

Someday I'm going to need to get a much bigger cabinet style one. But I'm making do with my little conventional ones for now.


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## bettinge (Apr 29, 2011)

My opinion: Buy "Littie Gient; at a local feed store. Their the best, and the cheapest!


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## TortieLuver (Apr 29, 2011)

I am on board with Tom. I use the Hovabators and they work well and get the job done. I add water in the tray every couple weeks and just check the thermometer daily. I looked into getting a more expensive one and the supplier told me not to. He said the $200 Pro MR-148 I wanted wasn't any better than the $40 Hovabator, in fact it would probably be as much as a degree off or more. I looked into the larger ones, but they really don't make them to hold very many eggs. Most people make them in an old refrigerator or cabinet.


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## GBtortoises (Apr 30, 2011)

I agree with Tom. I currently use three Hovabators, all of which have been in service for around 10-15 years, with at least one of them running about 8 months out of year each year. Last year, a fourth Hovabator went wild on me and overheated. This after about 20 years of use! I don't think that's a bad reliability record at all for $45.00 piece of equipment in service that long! 
I replaced it with a ZooMed Reptibator. Same concept as the Hovabator or Little Giant incubators. So far I like it, but it's pricey in comparison to the other two mentioned. I have noticed that the Reptibator does not hold the humidity level as well as the Hovabator does. That is really my only complaint with it so far. I like it because it's deep too. With my Hovabators I got rid of the bottom half and replaced them with styrofoam tropical fish shipping boxes to give them more depth so that I can use taller containers with more incubation medium in them in order to hold more moisture. I also was not crazy about the heating element so close to the eggs.
One of the issues with the cheaper incubators like the above mentioned has always been uneven temperatures within the incubators. Somewhere online I read a comparison done between the Hovabator and Little Giant and the degrees that each was off in different areas within each incubator. I've never been too concerned with that since I incubate fairly hot anyway. So even the "cold spots" are still above 87 degrees in my incubators.
I have looked into the more expensive, supposedly more accurate incubators myself over the years. For myself I can't justify the cost of most of them given the fact that they're essentially all doing the same basic thing-keeping an insulated box warm. I've seen (and used) homemade incubators that do absolutely as well also.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Apr 30, 2011)

I have been using little giants for over ten years and have hatched hundreds, simple and reliable! I have tried several "high end" incubators, some thousands of dollars, no better. They are sometimes more complicated and tempermental! I was recently looking into some Gumbachs, thousands of dollars, however I have heard they are no better than the rest and hard to get parts. I had two Profi-R's, junk! I gave them away!


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## bettinge (Apr 30, 2011)

My Hovabotor has a 25 watt heating element, and the Little Giant has a 40 watt. The bigger element helps keep a more stable temp when the room temp fluctuates.


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## NEtorts (Apr 30, 2011)

ok so... hoverbatchor (which I have) or little giant.......how do you all monitor and supply the humidity that you need in the units? I asume you all use vermiculite, wet it down, use a humidity gauge and thermometer in the incubator.....does this sound right?


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## onarock (Apr 30, 2011)

Incubators, incubators and more incubators. Ive used Hovabators, Little Giants, Juragon and the one I'm currently using now. The only one I can complain about is the Juragon, I would not use it nor recommend it. Some have said that Little Giants are more dependable than the Hovabators, but I had great success with both and at one time used a combination of both. What I liked about the Hovabator is the size. I am currently using a converted upright freezer that I love. Plenty of space and better controll of both humidity and temp and alot less fuss than any of the above mentioned models. I am using a Johnson controll A419 that I got from John (squamata) thanks again John, that replaced my Ranco controller. My next incubator that I am going to build is for eggs that need a daipause, (platynota) and for that I will buld the same type of incubator but Im going to use the Honeywell Series 2000, agian provided by John that will change the temps as necessary over a certain amount of days and then adjust to a constant temp should I go that rout....FANCY. If your like me and end up with lots of eggs every year then I would recommend building your own.


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## Tom (Apr 30, 2011)

NEtorts said:


> ok so... hoverbatchor (which I have) or little giant.......how do you all monitor and supply the humidity that you need in the units? I asume you all use vermiculite, wet it down, use a humidity gauge and thermometer in the incubator.....does this sound right?



This will be different for different species and probably different in different parts of the country too.

The only adult female I see in your signature is a greek, and I see your closer to the East Coast, so I think GB or Scott would be best able to advise you on specifics. I keep sulcatas and leopards on the West Coast, and I know there are some differences in how we do it. No offense to anyone else over there I just know that GB and Scott have a TON of Testudo sp. breeding experience and are closer to where NEtorts lives.


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## bettinge (May 1, 2011)

NEtorts said:


> ok so... hoverbatchor (which I have) or little giant.......how do you all monitor and supply the humidity that you need in the units? I asume you all use vermiculite, wet it down, use a humidity gauge and thermometer in the incubator.....does this sound right?



Little Giant or Hoverbator probably does not matter much. I like the extra wattage of the Little Giant and I can buy them at my local tractor supply, so that makes them cheaper since I dont pay shipping.

Yes, your other details would be correct for Hermanns. Moist Vermiculite and an open dish of water in the incubator.


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## NEtorts (May 1, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies......it helps slot....I will start looking for eggs to be laid in about 10/15days. He got her good today!!!!!!!!


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## jackrat (May 1, 2011)

I'm using Little giants and Reptobators.I like the temprature holding abilitity on the reptobators much more.I incubate inside plastic shoeboxes,so humidity isn't an issue.


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## B K (May 1, 2011)

onarock said:


> Incubators, incubators and more incubators. Ive used Hovabators, Little Giants, Juragon and the one I'm currently using now. The only one I can complain about is the Juragon, I would not use it nor recommend it. Some have said that Little Giants are more dependable than the Hovabators, but I had great success with both and at one time used a combination of both. What I liked about the Hovabator is the size. I am currently using a converted upright freezer that I love. Plenty of space and better controll of both humidity and temp and alot less fuss than any of the above mentioned models. I am using a Johnson controll A419 that I got from John (squamata) thanks again John, that replaced my Ranco controller. My next incubator that I am going to build is for eggs that need a daipause, (platynota) and for that I will buld the same type of incubator but Im going to use the Honeywell Series 2000, agian provided by John that will change the temps as necessary over a certain amount of days and then adjust to a constant temp should I go that rout....FANCY. If your like me and end up with lots of eggs every year then I would recommend building your own.



I use a freezer also for all our dragon eggs can't beat the space


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## Tccarolina (Jun 30, 2011)

onarock said:


> Incubators, incubators and more incubators. Ive used Hovabators, Little Giants, Juragon and the one I'm currently using now. The only one I can complain about is the Juragon, I would not use it nor recommend it. Some have said that Little Giants are more dependable than the Hovabators, but I had great success with both and at one time used a combination of both. What I liked about the Hovabator is the size. I am currently using a converted upright freezer that I love. Plenty of space and better controll of both humidity and temp and alot less fuss than any of the above mentioned models. I am using a Johnson controll A419 that I got from John (squamata) thanks again John, that replaced my Ranco controller. My next incubator that I am going to build is for eggs that need a daipause, (platynota) and for that I will buld the same type of incubator but Im going to use the Honeywell Series 2000, agian provided by John that will change the temps as necessary over a certain amount of days and then adjust to a constant temp should I go that rout....FANCY. If your like me and end up with lots of eggs every year then I would recommend building your own.



What was the problem you had with the Juragon? I found a Juragon Pro almost new on craigslist for 100.00 dollars. I got it for my golden greeks. I love the automation, it seems perfect, looks good, and has no problems so far. Of course I'm only a few weeks in, on the first clutch. At 91.0 degrees and 80% humidity, it needs the water reservoir refilled every 3 days, but that's the only problem I've had so far. I'm considering looking for more to replace my home-made box turtle incubators. Now, I'm unsure. What problems did you run into (other than cost)?

Thanks,
Steve


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## onarock (Jun 30, 2011)

Steve, I ran into many problems with them. 
1. They all eventually leaked. 
2. The humidity controll coil on 2 burned out and so I lost controll of the humidity. Had to do it manually. 
3. There are certain "outside" perameters that have to be met, such as ambient room temp. and when my room went outside those perameters, the temps started fluctuating greatly. 
4. The user interface stuck on a setting not for reptile eggs on 1 of them
5. On 2 of them the memory reset was stuck and would not give me the right readings.

Im sure if I sit here and think about it more some other stuff might come to mind.

Ive used Hovabators and Little Giants before I made my own out of the freezer. Any one of those is a way better option in my opinion at a fraction of the price.


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## Tccarolina (Jun 30, 2011)

That's good (and bad) to know. I'm not going to rush out an buy more if I find a good deal now. The automatic control and easy to use digital readout is the selling point to me, so if they frequently break down, I don't want that.

So far, this one's been great. But time will tell, and I'll give it a couple seasons before pursuing more.

Thanks for the info!
Steve


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## Geochelone_Carbonaria (Jul 4, 2011)

Why not build your own ?

I use a glass tank with an immersion heater and 3 inch of water, two pieces of standing glass, a brass grid on top of that where I can put the eggs, and a leaning top so the water dont drip on the eggs. 

The immersion heater is set to 29,7 C and this holds the temperature very steady as well as the humidity at 97-98.


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## NEtorts (Jul 4, 2011)

Geochelone_Carbonaria said:


> Why not build your own ?
> 
> I use a glass tank with an immersion heater and 3 inch of water, two pieces of standing glass, a brass grid on top of that where I can put the eggs, and a leaning top so the water dont drip on the eggs.
> 
> The immersion heater is set to 29,7 C and this holds the temperature very steady as well as the humidity at 97-98.


 why do you have the lights? are they added heat or just on when you are inspecting, seems very bright....


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## Geochelone_Carbonaria (Jul 4, 2011)

[/quote]
why do you have the lights? are they added heat or just on when you are inspecting, seems very bright....

[/quote]

Yes, I turn them on only when I want to check the eggs.

It's just an old thingy for an aquarium, that happened to have the right size...


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## Tccarolina (Jul 6, 2011)

I don't have a room I can dedicate to reptiles. Our house has 3 bedrooms; we have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and a son due in 2 weeks. My wife is ok with the tortoises because I and our 2 1/2 year old like them (and my daughter inherited my genes, apparently). However, she doesn't want the house cluttered up with "ugly animal things", so any visible incubators need to look nice. The box turtles incubate behind a chair in a corner, and their incubator tubs can stack. But there's not room there for a different style of incubator for the tortoises. And big styrofoam cartons fall into the "ugly" category. 
That's why I thought the Juragon Pro was such a good find. Big styrofoam cartons fall into the "ugly" category. I hope it turns out to be trouble free.


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## Balboa (Jul 8, 2011)

I'm in the built my own camp, mostly cuz I'm cheap AND I'm a sparky (electrician) so it was easy for me to do. So far its worked out amazingly well, we'll see how they look when they hatch, but they're developing nicely.


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## Geochelone_Carbonaria (Jul 13, 2011)

Balboa said:


> I'm in the built my own camp, mostly cuz I'm cheap AND I'm a sparky (electrician) so it was easy for me to do. So far its worked out amazingly well, we'll see how they look when they hatch, but they're developing nicely.



Balboa, what does your camp look like and how is it constructed ? 

Just curious...


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