Hi reptile fam! I’m a first-time hognose breeder, and I was hoping to gain a little bit more insight into the incubation process. I can’t seem to find any 100% reliable incubators online, so i’m considering using my brumation fridge and adding heat tape. Does anyone happen to have any examples of their incuabtion set up? Any recommendations for heat tape brands / sizes? How do you cool the area if need be? Thank you! For reference, I currently only have two pairs.
@ghsaltie Here’s one for you lady! ![]()
Firstly welcome to the community!
I had been using a coleman cooler as my incubator but this year I used my wine cooler that doubles as a brumator. I lined it with heat tape from reptile basics and hooked that to my herpstat. I also added an adjustable computer fan because I found the heat was pooling over the tape and not distributing evenly through out the space. You could drill holes to fit the cords through. I just slipped them through the door and the rubber trim helped keep everything in place. I’ll probably drill holes next time now that I know I like the setup. Once I added the fan I didn’t have an issue with heat going too high. I keep it around 81-82 and set up a week or so in advance so that I can dial in the heat. But once it’s there it’s pretty rock solid. On the off chance it were to get too high I can just crack the door. I also use thermostats that have high/low temp alarms just in case that occurs.
Whatever you choose the two most important things are that you have a reliable thermostat, I love Spyder robotics, and use a digital thermometer.
I will also add, if your door is see through like mine it is torture being able to peek in waiting for those babies to hatch ![]()
