5 Best Reptile Incubators

Most people who get into keeping reptiles want to breed their own stock or hatch their own babies rather than buy from a pet store because they believe this provides better quality pets-and often it does!  That is why they may require special reptile incubators. 

A reptile incubator is an appliance used to control both the humidity and temperature of an enclosed environment. It is often used for reptiles, but it can be used with other animals as well.  The result is an area with the optimum humidity and temperature levels for incubating eggs.

The most common reptiles that are hatched in reptile incubators include turtles, lizards, snakes, tortoises, iguanas, and crocodilians. However, other animals such as fish may be kept in them too. The types of animal will determine what type of enclosure you should use to house it inside your reptile incubator.

Benefits of reptile incubators

​Firstly, an incubator ensures that a reptile baby is born healthy and happy. The mother may not always have enough time to care about her eggs properly if she’s busy with their daily life or other matters. An egg can dehydrate quickly, causing it to die before hatching even though there are still weeks left until its due date. 

Secondly, using a reptile incubator helps keep all your animals monitored in one spot instead of having them spread throughout different enclosures as you would need more than one such appliance unless they’re small lizards who don’t require much space yet (i.e.: newts). 

Finally, this product will help both professional breeders and amateur hobbyists to breed reptiles or other animals quickly and efficiently.

Do you have a reptile at home? The ones that are most often kept as pets are lizards, snakes, turtles, and tortoises. These animals require special care to stay healthy and happy. One of the most important things for these creatures is proper incubation conditions. If you’re looking for an effective way to keep your pet reptile warm without spending too much money, then this article is perfect for you! Experts will talk about the best type of incubators on the market today and provide some useful tips to help make your purchasing decision easier.

Farm Innovators Digital Circulated Air Incubator with Automatic Egg Turner – the Editor’s choice!

A new Farm Innovators product is on the way to help your efforts! A new understanding of incubation is coming to improve hatching rates. That’s because this innovative hard plastic outer shell will be easy to clean and protect the incubator, including an integrated fan pulling in the fresh air that keeps the condition stable.

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The unit has a digital display for better readability, along with visible high/low-temperature notification lights for everyone’s benefit! You’ll also get egg candlers to keep track of developmental progress.

It’s durable outside, protects your eggs from contamination and harsh light, and includes a built-in egg turner to eliminate manual handling.

An easy-to-read digital display of this incubator shows humidity as well as the days to hatching as adjusted per different types of eggs. When it gets too hot or cold above 97°F or below 103°F, you’ll know thanks to their high/low-temperature notification light’s flashing alerts.

Farm Innovators 2100 Heated Still Air Incubator – the best for digital features!

With such a sophisticated design, the Farm Innovators 2100 Heated Still Air Incubator has everything needed for incubation. Prevents temperature and humidity changes to achieve maximum hatchability so you can produce more at any time of year!

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These still air incubators heat the inside of the egg with infrared lamps and monitor fluctuations in humidity and temperature that might otherwise compromise your breeding program.

You’ll be able to see into each incubator through two large 9.5-inch by 3.5-inch viewing windows; which means you’ll always know what’s going on inside – even if it’s as little as one small chick looking up at you!

The 2100 Heated Still Air Incubator from Farm Innovators is a modern take on an old classic. Available in different colors, 2100 accommodates up to 48 eggs with ease and features a built-in hygrometer for easy temperature and relative humidity monitoring.

Little Giant 9300 Still Air Egg Incubator Kit for Reptiles – the best for design!

Little Giant 9300 Reptile Egg Incubators are the ultimate in reptile egg incubation. Equipped with an LCD screen that accurately displays room temperature, a built-in thermometer/hygrometer for accurate reading during reptile egg incubation, easy-to-use pre-punched cups, and lids, your eggs will hatch right on schedule without any worry of you worrying about them at all!

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Set your eggs on the right track with this kit. It includes a digital electronic thermostat with an LCD screen, a built-in digital thermometer/hygrometer while incubating your reptile eggs, and lids to hold reptile-hatching mediums, along with all other needed materials.

Ready to hatch nine times out of ten? The Little Giant 9300 Kit is perfect for your reptile hatching needs. Get the benefits of a digital electronic thermostat with an LCD screen and a built-in digital thermometer/hygrometer, pre-punched cups, and lids for holding your reptile hatching medium.

RCOM JURAGON MX R90 Reptile Egg Incubator – the best for large capacity!

The 120-egg capacity of this RCOM incubator allows you to care for an entire clutch of eggs at one time, and there’s no need to change any settings as it will automatically adjust to be perfect for your eggs.

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It comes with a humidity gauge so you know what your egg needs and there are ventilation holes that provide air circulation and keep oxygen levels high – great for hatchlings!

The lock button keeps the machine from accidentally turning on when tucked away in storage, and sees everything flipped around double vision windows!

The incubator heats to the right temperature and can be the perfect amount of humidity. You’ll be back to harvesting clutches soon times at a much lower cost – with no fuss or hassle!

This reptile incubator was developed to ensure that your pets are guaranteed to hatch. With automatic temperature setting and control, locking button, water supply hole, air circulation fan, duplicated view window, and larger capacity – up to 120 eggs – this egg incubator is perfect for the seasoned enthusiast.

Happybuy Black Reptile Incubator – the best for portability!

Durable and portable, the Happybuy Black Reptile Incubator is ready to go when you need it. The power switch is located on the incubation unit making adjustment easy during any stage of the incubation process (from birth to hatch).

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See your progress through a convenient and durable glass door for optimal visibility without affecting the environment. With roomy 25L chamber volume and temperature control from 36-140F, perfect temperatures can be ensured throughout all stages of incubation, providing you with a bountiful harvest.

Whether you need to be checking up on delicate baby turtles or just making sure your napping slugs stay warm through winter, these sturdy incubators can help!

Happybuy’s latest 25L incubator is the perfect way to maximize your egg-hatching success this season. The large capacity allows you to really explore the evergreen ever-fertile mountain valleys, which with the touch of a button are ideally maintained at whatever temperature between 36-140F you choose.

The Buyer’s Guide

Types of Reptile Incubators:

• Glass or plastic tanks with an adjustable reptile thermostat, typically controlled at 60F; 
• Styrofoam boxes wrapped in high-efficiency reflective insulation that maintains stable temperatures up to 86F. These may come equipped with heating pads – these would only activate when needed – or not. They also may include built-in humidity gauges depending on their size;
• Rubber tubs with a built-in heating pad. These are usually used for smaller eggs, such as those from bearded dragons and turtles. They’re also best suited to species that do not require high humidity levels in their incubation environments (most snakes fall into this category);

Main Features:

1. Size of reptile incubators

Reptile incubators come in a variety of sizes, but the most common ones are those that can hold up to 100 eggs. These usually have two chambers and allow you to keep your eggs at different temperatures as needed.  Having two separate chambers is a great way to keep your eggs at different stages of development. For example, you could maintain one chamber at the optimal temperature for incubating and egg-laying while keeping another in an environment where it’s too cold or hot outside to lay eggs correctly.

2. Humidity

The crucial part of successfully hatching reptile eggs is creating and maintaining proper humidity in your incubator. Your goal should be to keep a constant level around 75% relative humidity, with some fluctuations that don’t exceed +/- 5-10 percent. 

Typically, a humidity level of between 60-65% is fine for incubating eggs from non-tropical reptiles such as most geckos and bearded dragons.

For tropical species like chameleons, the ideal range should be 70%-75%. 

However when in doubt about your specific reptile’s needs or if you have trouble maintaining humidity levels during use, it’s best to add a moisture meter so that you can monitor conditions inside your egg chamber at all times. 

3. Temperature Control

Different reptiles need different temperature gradients, so you should always check the specific needs of your pet before buying an incubator:

• Reptiles that need a warmer temperature should have the incubator set to around 88F;
• You can usually find this information on your pet’s packaging or from customer service representatives at the pet store where you bought it;
• Be sure not to keep reptiles with different needs in one incubator as they may be able to harm each other if kept together for too long;
• If there are multiple species, make sure you label the dials and doors clearly! Some reptile eggs require both high humidity levels and hotter temperatures, so you should always double-check before turning up the heat;

4. Cooling Systems

The best models come with a cooling system that can be set up in three different ways: air, water, or ice. The reptile incubator must come with a cooling system. Some really cheap models lack this feature, so pay attention to that when you buy one. If the heating is not working well then it would be hard for your eggs to hatch successfully, so make sure they are set up correctly. 

A good model should have an automatic thermostat that allows you to keep the temperature constant no matter what happens in or around your home where the device is situated. 

5. Design 

As you know, there are 2 main designs that the majority of reptile incubators use: still air and circulating. Still-air units provide a constant temperature for your eggs to develop in, but they don’t circulate fresh air through them as often as fan models do.

They also generally hold fewer eggs than actively ventilated ones because they need less space between each egg. Circulating types blow new cool air over hot eggs throughout their development process so it requires more room per egg since there is no “hot” side or “cold” side like with still-air incubation systems. If you plan on using this kind of design then you should look into larger capacity models because this is what they are designed for.

Still-air incubators are the best choice if you’re only looking to hatch a few eggs at once or intend to use them in your classroom during science class, but circulating models will give you better results when it comes down to producing healthy babies because of their ability to provide fresh air throughout each stage of development. 

6. Visibility

You want to be able to see inside your incubator. If you cannot, it’s hard to know if the temperature or humidity is correct so that eggs can hatch successfully. Some of these products have glass lids while others may have plastic ones with clear windows.  Even if they come with a lid, you may want to buy one separately so that you can see what is going on inside without having to open up the incubator every time.

7. Frequency of opening

You must also consider how often and when it’s safe for you to open your reptile egg incubators during the hatching process because different species require different temperatures and humidity levels. If at all possible, try not to disturb them unless necessary otherwise their behavior could change or they might hatch early. 

You should plan accordingly – make sure there are adequate hours in between openings depending upon which type of reptiles need these conditions to ensure successful outcomes (e.g., crocodilians). Reptiles like turtles will benefit from more frequent access than snakes.

8. Brands 

There are many reptile incubators out there. But only a few brands have the best products and effective tips for you to follow:

• Zoo Med; 
• Farm Innovators;
• R+Co;

All of them provide excellent product reviews, helpful tips as well as the ability to control multiple aspects of caregiving including temperature regulation which ensures healthy baby reptiles. 

Typically, the ideal reptile incubator should be able to maintain very specific environmental conditions during both cooling and warming cycles, so it’s essential that you choose one designed specifically for reptiles! The more expensive models may provide additional features like automatic egg turning mechanisms or even timers but these aren’t necessary unless your goal is to hatch several clutches of eggs at once or maximize efficiency using artificial lighting. 

If neither of these applies then there really isn’t any reason to spend extra on a more expensive model unless you simply want one that’s easier to use.

Reptile Egg Incubators vs. Chicken Egg Incubators

Reptile eggs are more delicate than chicken eggs. They require different incubation conditions, which is why reptile egg incubators have to be specialized or they can break the eggs inside them.  Reptile eggs usually require lower humidity levels than chicken eggs, so don’t use the same settings for reptile and chicken egg incubators.

Reptiles can’t control their body temperature, as well as birds, do, which is why they need a special place to lay their eggs where the conditions won’t be affected by outside factors such as changes in seasons or temperatures. 

Reptiles also have different requirements depending on species: some of them will only sit on their eggs during certain months of the year because that’s when it’s warm enough to keep embryos alive inside them; others will stay with their young even after hatching, keeping them safe from predators until they can take care of themselves. That means you’ll need an effective method for controlling your reptiles’ body temperature.

Do not trust your pet store to provide you with the right equipment for incubating reptile eggs, even if they’re willing to help. Reptiles are more difficult than birds and their requirements change depending on species; this means that it’s very possible that what works for one type of lizard or snake won’t work for another! 

You may also need different types of reptile cages (or terrariums) because some reptiles like snakes will prefer cooler temperatures while others like lizards love warmer environments. 

Reptile Incubator Care and Maintenance Tips:

• If you will not be using your reptile incubator for some time, remove all eggs or animals to ensure that they are safe during this time;
• It is important to remember that conditions can change if you leave an egg inside of a reptile incubator too long (for example, humidity levels);
• Ensure it is always monitored closely so as not to cause harm to any developing creatures;
• You should also make sure there are no unpleasant smells coming from the device before leaving it alone; otherwise, bacterial may form which could get into small cracks in devices where bacteria can easily build up;
• Store away after use at room temperature with vents open on top of the container while storing;
• The best reptile incubators should have a self-contained climate control system that keeps humidity levels at the correct levels and also provides heat in order to keep developing creatures warm enough;
• Ensure your device is able to maintain a temperature between 90F and 110F;

In addition, make sure you follow any guidelines included with specific devices when it comes to how often or for what length of time temperatures need to be checked/adjusted. This will help ensure success in creating new life! 

FAQ

Can you put turtle eggs in a chicken incubator?

Yes, you can. But it is not recommended as the temperature and humidity levels of a chicken incubator may be unsuitable for turtle eggs. For this reason, use an aquarium or reptile-specific model instead.

Do reptile eggs need to be kept warm?

Yes, reptile eggs need to be kept warm. Although some species of reptiles are able to regulate their own body temperature during incubation, the outside environment must still provide a constant and appropriate level of heat for successful reproduction. Unlimited access to water is also necessary because it provides hydration while promoting healthy embryo growth. 

Do reptile incubators need a fan?

The answer to this question depends on what type of model you are using. Some models have fans, others don’t and some have heaters instead so it really depends on your preference as well as which one would be more effective for the purpose you want to use it for. 

Where should the fan be placed in an incubator?

The fan should be placed at the top of the incubator. It is important that it has a good airflow to cool down or heat up an environment depending on what needs to happen inside. The best position for this device would usually be at one end so as not to disturb any eggs set in there by accident.

Can you make a homemade incubator?

You can make DIY incubators, but it is not the best option. They do work for some people, but reptile eggs are fragile and they need to be kept at specific temperatures with humidity levels that you cannot achieve in a “homemade” environment. 

At what temperature do you incubate turtle eggs?

The right temperature for turtle eggs is between 80 and 84F. Ensure that the incubator has a digital thermometer so you can monitor any fluctuations in the heat during the process. 

How long do turtle eggs take to incubate?

Turtle eggs usually take between 55 and 90 days to incubate, depending on the species. The smaller turtles typically hatch within a couple of months while larger ones can require up to 120 days before they are ready for life outside their shells. 

How many times do you turn an egg in an incubator?

It is recommended to turn the egg 3 times per day. Do not touch eggs with bare hands. This can cause them to dehydrate and die. 

What happens if humidity is too high in an incubator?

If humidity levels are too high in an incubator, it will cause several problems for the eggs. For example, if your reptile hatchlings live together in their enclosure after hatching from their eggs and they don’t have a hideaway to escape into when needed then you may find that one or more of them is being bullied by their siblings as there isn’t enough hiding space. 

Another possible problem with too high humidity is that this can lead to mold forming on the eggshells that could result in a potentially fatal fungal infection developing inside the baby reptile’s body. 

Are reptile incubators good for beginners?

If you are looking to hatch your own eggs, a reptile incubator is the best option. It allows you complete control over humidity and temperature levels so that newbies can get used to it without worrying about ruining their clutch of eggs. They will be able to use this experience when they attempt natural methods in future breeding seasons that require more care and attention while keeping the egg safe from external factors like wind or rain.

Useful Video: BEST REPTILE INCUBATOR EVER – CrittaCam

Final thoughts

The experts have spoken! Now it’s your turn. Whether you’re looking for a cheap incubator, an efficient one that will last a long time, or just need some guidance on what to look out for in the market today, you’ve got covered with this article. So take a deep breath and dive into all of our helpful hints before making your final decision about which reptile incubator is right for you and your pet at home!