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Thermostats and incubation

D

DougM

New member
I know that the ultimate incubator setup would include a proportional thermostat (i.e. Helix, Herpstat, etc.) I've read other saying that an incubator isn't even necessary in warmer climates. Still others say that an on/off thermostat (i.e. Johnson, Ranco) work just fine. Many have even used Hovabators.

I live in St. Petersburg, Florida and I'm wondering whether I should:

1. incubate the eggs in my garage without using a thermostat
2. use my Johnson thermostat

I doubt that I'll have the funds to get a Helix before this breeding season. Which route would you use if you lived in a warm climate?
 
Doug, I'm not a corn snake expert. Did spend the first part of my life in Clearwater & Largo though. Our garage in Largo got up over 90 degrees on some hot days. The one in Clearwater didn't but might go down into the 70s at night on some of the coolest summer nights. Kathy Love's book seems to say corn snake eggs do best in the low to mid 80s. So I think it all depends on ~your~ garage whether the no thermostat strategy would work. I would probably go for the Johnson thermostat strategy myself. I will be breeding in a couple years & suspect that I will be using a styrofoam box with t-stat. :) Anyway, good luck & I hope the experienced folks give you better advice.
 
I've always used a straight on/off stat with my incubators and they've been fine. The sort of fluctuations these cause, don't appear to have been an issue.

Incubating at ambient temps isn't an issue here in the UK! Hopefully someone more local to you can advise.
 
I think you have to worry more about the temps getting too warm rather than getting too cold. I know Susan lives a little bit north of you and does not use an incubator. The trick is to find a place in your house with fairly steady temps that doesn't get into a dangerously high range that also doesn't get cold when the AC is on. Possibly a closet shelf?

I'm so worried about temp spikes where I am, due to a poorly-insulated house with no significant shade and a not-so-robust AC system that I am going to go with an incubator that also cools...
 
Yeah, just put them in the top of a closet in a room that stays fairly constant. You'll be fine. Anywhere from 70-80 and they'll be OK.

However, just a word of warning, if it gets too hot it can and will cook your eggs. I incubate in the top of a closet and my AC went out this summer for a day (right after I left for work) and it got to over 95 in my apartment. It was enough to kill off ~95% of my eggs.
 
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