im trying to setup an incubator and wanted to know what you guys thought of it. i have this old cooler should be big enough for this year as i only have the one breeding pair. i put a heat pad on the bottom, i have it hooked up to a thermostat, then water bottles then egg crate i got it set at around 88 is that right?
another question i have is about the container the eggs will be in. what i want to know is do you put the eggs directly on vermiculite or do i put a grate in there so the eggs sit on that above the vermiculite?
also the container the eggs go in, do i cut holes in it or is that air tight?
my girl is huge im hoping she is prego, so i gotta get this ready. any advice or input is greatly appreciated. thanks

87-89 is ideal steady temps. Be sure the incubator is in a room temp that is steady and away from drafts.

I use 6qt tubs with vermiculite and the crate ontop of that. This way i can soak the vermiculite and not need to add any more water during incubation.

I actually double up on the crate as with the soaking it seems to sink in a bit. Doubling up helps keep the bottom of eggs touching water and killing them.

Once your eggs are in, just put the lid on and thats it. No need to check on them but maybe once a week

sweet looks like im good to go then i just need tubs and thanks for answering before i asked ill look for 6qts . do you thinks its possible my girl is prego after 4-5 locks? reason i ask is i put them together last night and it seems they want nothing to do with each other, right now they are sitting on different sides of the tank.

Nope not prego at all till she ovulates. And that takes months to get to that point.

Theres times they lock like crazy and other times they dont do anything.

ok ill let em keep trying thanks