All Brinsea incubators are equipped with wide range
temperature controls which will cover the lower
temperatures required for reptile incubation.

Procedure
Soft shelled fertile eggs will normally adhere tightly to
one another soon after laying. No attempt should be
made to separate them. When a female has finished laying,
eggs should be transferred to a plastic box with a fitting lid,
50-70% full of moistened vermiculite. The box should contain
small ventilation holes to allow fresh air into the box but must
not be large enough to allow the hatchlings to escape. Six or
eight 3mm (1/8”) holes through the lid is recommended.

Vermiculite is available from garden centres. Prepare the
vermiculite by pouring boiling water over it until saturated.
Drain until all the surplus water is gone (this can take up
to five minutes) and leave to cool. Place the eggs half
buried in the mixture within the pre-heated incubator.

Where a still air incubator is used, such as the Brinsea
Hatchmaker R or Polyhatch, the box must be positioned
so that the thermometer in its clip is clear of the box and free
to swivel so that the height of the bulb is at the same height
as the centre of the eggs.

When eggs are incubated at too low a temperature the young
will tend to be small, undernourished and do badly. If the
temperature is too high they risk deformities or death.

The main requirements for reptile incubation are that
automatic turning is not required (and must not be used)
and that the incubator needs to be able to control the
temperature at levels down to 26ºC or so. All our current
machines can operate down to these low temperatures
and so the manual machines such as the Octagon 10,
Hatchmaker R and the Hatchmaster ‘H’ are the most
popular amongst reptile breeders. As a rule still air
incubators are favoured rather than fan assisted.