How to Make an Incubator for Reptiles

Heat your womb at a high temperature to have a baby girl. While this does not work for humans, temperature plays a large part in the gender of some reptile eggs. Most reptiles do not individually incubate their eggs. They leave their eggs covered in hot areas. With advances in technology, you can make an incubator for reptiles in your home. The materials are available at your local hardware store. Styrofoam containers provide an inexpensive solution for homemade incubators.

Things You'll Need

• 5-gallon Styrofoam container with lid
• Heat lamp
• 50-Watt light bulb
• Utility knife
• Duct tape
• Tape measure
• Scissors
• Wire mesh
• 1-inch L-shaped plastic brackets
• Super glue
• Thermometer

Instructions

1. Purchase a Styrofoam container with a lid. The reptile eggs are laid horizontally along the bottom of the container. Purchase a container that holds the amount of eggs you have.

2. Purchase a 50-Watt heat lamp and bulb to use for a 5-gallon Styrofoam container. Increase the light bulb 5-Watts for every additional 1-gallon of container space. For example, a 10-gallon Styrofoam container needs a 75-Watt light bulb.

3. Place the lid of the Styrofoam container on the ground. Cut a hole the size of the electrical cord in the center of the lid using a utility knife.

4. Place the heat lamp on the inside of the lid. Pull the electrical cord through the hole in the inside of the lid to the outside of the lid.

5. Pull the electrical cord until the heat lamp fits securely on the inside of the lid.

6. Tape the electrical cord to the outside of the lid using duct tape. This secures the lamp to top of the inside of the lid.

7. Measure the dimensions of bottom of the container using a tape measure.

8. Cut wire mesh to the dimensions of the bottom of the container using scissors. Water will be poured into the bottom of the container during the incubation process. The water creates humidity needed for incubation.

9. Place 10 L-shaped plastic brackets evenly on bottom of the container. The brackets are used to hold the wire mesh above the bottom of the container.

10. Glue the plastic brackets to the bottom of the container using super glue. Exact placement is not needed. The plastic brackets should be spread evenly to hold the entire wire mesh above the bottom of the container. Let the glue dry for 10 minutes.

11. Place the wire mesh on top of the L-shaped brackets.

12. Glue a thermometer to the center of the wire mesh using super glue. The thermometer is used to measure the temperature during the incubation process.

13. Let the glue dry for 5 minutes.

14. Plug in the electrical cord. Place the eggs on the wire mesh. Close the lid of the container. Your homemade incubator is ready for use.

Tips & Warnings

• While temperature differs from reptile to reptile, lower temperatures usually produce male reptiles while higher temperatures usually produce female reptiles.

• 1-inch L-shaped brackets, wire mesh, thermometers, heat lamps, and light bulbs are available at your local hardware store.

References

• Smithsonian: Raising Reptiles and Amphibians
• "Iowa State University"; Egg Size, Incubation Temperature and Posthatching Growth in Painted Turtles; Fredric J. Janzen; 2002

Resources

• University of Georgia; Eggs Came Millions of Years Before Chickens; Whit Gibbons; October 2008