Chook Me!

I need a cheap/free/home made incubator for a bearded dragon.?

Just found out why my male was being so nice to the female. SHES GRAVID! So how can I make her an incupator? What temp do these eggs have to be at?

Public Comments

1. i'll be YOUR incubator ;)
2. Fertile eggs should be a nice white color and leathery in texture. If candled, fertile eggs will appear pink and a round embryo should be detectable. If the eggs appear yellow when candled or gelatinous, they are probably infertile (this is somewhat common for a first clutch of eggs). Fertile eggs should be placed in a dish with moist vermiculite (and perlite if you wish) about one inch apart. This dish is then transferred to your pre-calibrated incubator. We suggest a "Hovabator" incubator. (You can find these at some pet stores, feed stores, and online). Make sure that your incubator is set at least 24 hours prior to use to avoid drastic fluctuations in temperature. We recommend incubating at around 84 degrees F. Do not let temperature range out of the 80s. Spray egg containers to maintain moisture level in the vermiculite. Eggs should hatch about 60 days after incubation.
3. We've had excellent success with this method when breeding tortoises. We use the type of styrofoam box in which fish are delivered to aquarium stores and place a thermostatically controlled heat mat at the bottom, with plastic dishes containing damp vermiculite (and the eggs) on a wire rack supported about a third of the way up the box (resting on a couple of half house-bricks!) The boxes we use are the size described here, readily available from many online sources - it's just we were UK based at the time: http://www.aquamania.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=2574 and we make a couple of air holes in the top, and another couple in the sides. We use a humidity sensor to ensure that the levels are appropriate for the type of eggs we're incubating (adding sponge-filled dishes of water will increase the humidity - while increasing number of vents will decrease it) and we also have a long glass thermometer pushed through the lid, with the "bulb" positioned to give a second visual monitor of the temperature at the same level as the eggs (the first being the temperature controller we use for the on-off control of the heat mat, as that has a digital display and alarm functionality.) Hope this helps? Edit to respond to jason's answer: We also have a Hovabator and have had better results with our home-made incubator. The Hovabator is now relegated to incubation of our poultry's eggs and we use our other one (described above) for our herps. Yes, all the parts put together probably do cost more than the basic Hovabator, but when breeding endangered species such as tortoises, I certainly wouldn't rely on the Hovabator alone, so would still want additional alarm functionality, etc. Our home made incubator's temperature fluctuates MUCH less than the hovabator does with it's very crude and uneven heating. Also, with no feedback, the temperature inside the Hovabator is not actually being *controlled* - it varies with room temp and requires manual tweaking, which the use of a quality thermostat avoids. I'm certainly not saying Hovabators won't work - they definitely can do - but the solution I proposed is actually superior, rather than "cutting corners". I should know since I developed firmware for high-end industrial process controllers (used in nuclear power stations, amongst other places) for many years! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Oh dear - I fell for it again, LOL. "Debating" with someone whose answer wasn't even their own...DOH! See: http://www.repticzone.com/forums/BeardedDragons-Breeding/messages/777849.html for Jason's unreferenced "cut-n-paste".
4. I’ve heard all kinds of crazy "improvised" incubator ideas. Save yourself the headaches and just spend the $40.00 on a Hovabator still air model (no fan). If you decide later you that you want to build one have at it but this is no place to cut corners a decent thermostat will run you more than the Hovabator. I put my eggs in containers and place a cup of water in the middle (looks like a figure 5 on a dice). Set it at 83 degrees and use a decent thermometer, not the cheap one that comes with it. Incubation should take approximately 60 days at this temp. I don’t measure the humidity, but let the eggs tell you what to do. there should be condensation up the sides of the containers to the substrate line but not above, and not on the top. If there is you need to vent some off by propping the lid up for a little bit. Eggs should be plump and dry, if they are wet your humidity is to high and you need to vent some off, if they are dimpled the humidity is to low you need to add a LITTLE bit of water at a time directly to the substrate. DO NOT mist the eggs, there is a delicate air exchange that goes on through the shell of the egg. Misting them will block the pores and suffocate the developing baby.
5. And you still have them together huh? Please separate them immediately. He is going to drive her crazy with still trying to breed and as soon as she lays those eggs, he will be at her again and she needs to recover and build back up as more eggs will be coming with only the one breeding.
6. ytr