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| Incubators from Polystyrene BoxesHow to make an Incubator If you dont want to purchase a commercial incubator, it is relatively simple to make your own. They can be set up in about an hour and calibrated in about two days. This one is made from an old polystyrene shipping box, a heat mat, and a thermostat. It cost me about £70 (about $140) but could have been made much cheaper if I hadn't decided to use a pulse proportional thermostat. You will need: One polystyrene shipping box One heat mat to fit the bottom Some wooden dowel Thermostat An old CD case Tape (duct tape or parcel tape work well) A digital thermometer A few little plastic tubs Vermiculite Firstly, cut a hole just smaller than the cd case front in the middle of the lid. Try to leave about 1/2" all the way round. Once you have the main hole cut, draw accurately round the case and cut a lip all the way round, about 3 mm deep. This leaves you a recess to neatly sit the plastic into. Tape it in place. Lay the heat mat on the bottom, and run the cable out over the top. If you prefer, you can make a small hole, take the plug off and thread it through. Make a hole for the thermostat probe to pass through and tape it to the side of the box about halfway up the inside. Plug the heatmat into the thermostat and make a further small hole for the thermometer probe. I recessed my thermometer display into the side of the box but its not necessary to do this, I just felt it looked nicer. Push the dowels in one side of the box and out the other, level with the bottom and each other. This makes a small shelf for the boxes of incubating medium to sit on. Tape the thermometer probe to the side of one of these dowels.  Mix up the vermiculite 6 parts medium and 4 parts water by weight, and fill the a tub about halfway. The eggs will be half buried in this once the medium is at the correct temperature. Place the tub on the shelf in the incubator and Voila! You're done! Let it run for a few days to get the temperatures right, using the thermostat on the heater to adjust the temperature. Leave it for about an hour between adjustments to let it settle to the new temperature. I found that my pulse proportional thermostat held the temp to an accuracy of 0.1 degrees Celsius. On/Off thermostats will be cheaper but wont be as accurate.  Other Projects: Aquarium Incubator Polystyrene Box Incubator Humid hides Fake Rocks Naturalistic Vivaria Set of Cages E-Mail me with comments or suggestions at webmaster@reptileguides.com |
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