iHerp Answers: diy Fridge-a-Bator...again

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diy Fridge-a-Bator...again

Posted By:

kfethe

so i finally have a few breeding projects lined up and the cheap styrofoam hovabator i got last year is no longer doing it for me. so i went online and found diy incubators made out of mini fridges. i think the idea is to set it up with heat tape controlled by a thermostat and a thermometer just for good measure. any setup ideas, opinions, experiences? any input is appreciated.


Points:	100
Topics:	Incubation
Tags:	DIY, Incubator
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

12/20/2009 11:59:32 AM

WhiteHillReptile

depends on how much room you need and the size of the eggs. i have used igloo coolers that have been converted to an incubator for years and they work really well.

Member Comment

12/20/2009 2:46:11 PM

the jersef.

i think the mini fridge idea was great, fridges are great insulators, obviously. and even cooler if they have see-through doors. im pertty sure youll be able to keep good humidity, and a stable temperature. good luck :]

Assisted Answer

12/20/2009 4:28:26 PM

aaron

look into the heat rope... that stuff is more moisture resilient than heat tape.
get a proportional t-stat if you need stable temps.... on / off type will fluctuate a bit.
fan circulation is helpful as well ... as is humidity if necessary for the eggs you are going to have.

i might be doing a couple of those next summer.. i love the igloo, but... it's cursed.

Member Comment

12/20/2009 5:23:40 PM

Aimee

a friend of mine made a small wine-fridge into a diy incubator and it worked very nicely, with the glass front door for easier viewing. I myself did the cooler-bricks-aquarium heater method last year and it worked very well indeed.

Member Comment

12/20/2009 6:23:39 PM

WhiteHillReptile

aaron - your igloo is cursed? i would suspect stephens...he is trying to corner the market by not selling any of his own offspring. haha

Author Comment

12/22/2009 12:08:30 AM

kfethe

i considered the igloo idea, but i figured that it would be easier with the fridge to put in the eggs and it would make checking on them easier. with the igloo i knew that for some reason i would always need to see what was on the bottom and that would be a hassle. i also considered the wine cooler thingy idea, but they were about 100 bucks on craigslist and the mini - fridges were as low as 15. there were none that cheap close enough to me, but the one i got was only 30. if i can do it cheaply, what i might do is cut a hole in the door and put in double pane plexi so its still insulated but see through.

Member Comment

12/23/2009 3:16:47 PM

Triangle Reptiles

I just put my colubrid eggs in a tupperware container with vermiculite and set it on top of the fride in the kitchen. Temp stays a consistent 78-80 and don't have to fool with an incubator.

Assisted Answer

12/23/2009 3:32:11 PM

abi21491

For a fridge, you will need to put an appropriate amount of flexwatt inside ran through a thermostat. You can use the on/off style, but it will fluctuate a little bit. Most people prefer proportional stats. Most people recommend putting a computer fan (or more than one) inside for air circulation. These can be set up by cutting the end off that plugs into the motherboard, taking a 12 volt adapter, cut the end off and splice them together. Plug the fan in and there you go. You will need to splice the red wire from the fan into the black wire with a white line on it on the adapter, and the black wire into the black wire. Hope this helps! I am about to build one for myself as soon as I find a mini fridge for cheap or free around here.

Assisted Answer

12/26/2009 8:11:10 AM

Howard Redding

if you have a dump/landfill/scrapmetal place near you. keep your eyes open most of the time they have an area where they put fridges/freezers/etc. you will be surprised how many mini-fridges they toss. us, reptile folks are nuts we take perfectly good alcohol conveyance vessels and put eggs in them???

Assisted Answer

12/26/2009 9:33:43 PM

JBDragons

i use a mini fridge w/glass door ( like the red bull ones in stores) and i have had nothing but success with it. i use flexwatt and an esu thermostat and the temps stay 84-86 degrees and humidity stays as high as i want it with no probs. I am using it for bearded dragon eggs and it works very well.

Member Comment

1/19/2011 3:23:45 AM

abi21491

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Accepted Answer

11/25/2012 9:13:59 PM

Garsha

I just built on out of a "Nu Cool" mini fridge which used cold synch (electric radiators) and computer fans that blow across them. You see where I'm going w/ this...the REALLY cool thing about this fridge is that is has 2 computer fans built into the back about about 1/4 and 3/4 up the back side. I just cut and tapped off power to the cooling unit by cutting the wires and putting electrical tape on the "hot" end.

I am using a 1-ft strip of 4" flex watt (6 watts) controlled by one of the channels on my new Herpstat 2. To give the incubator some extra warming, I'm going to put plastic watter bottles in the door to help re-warm the fridgerator after open the door. I haven't gotten to actually test it yet, but like you, asked a lot of people and viewed a lot of You Tube videos. Got my best advise from my ball python breeder mentor who used very simular setup...who has been breeding great ball pythons for the last 5 years.

Haven't gotten to use it yet, but know it will work great.

My neighbor was throwing it away because it didn't cool very well...you know the old saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure."

Good luck w/ your incubator!

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