Posted By: Anonymous
Maisie's Portable Incubator - 03/20/08 06:53 PM
Here are the pics and "How To" on how I set up Maisie's Portable Incubator.
I started with a plastic shoe box. I drilled holes in the top for venting.
I then placed a 6" X 6" piece of fleece that had been wet and completely squeezed out (no more water would squeeze out) in the bottom of the shoe box.
I placed 3-6 pieces of fleece on top of that, cut slightly larger than the bottom of the shoe box. Then, the Flukers Thermometer and the Acu Rite "Outdoor" Probe on top of the pieces of fleece. The temperature can be raised by removing a layer of fleece. If your joey burrows under the layers of fleece, you will have to put your thermometers where your joey ends up. The ideal temperature is 95 degrees. Your incubator should be from 90 degrees to 95 degrees.
You will need two large, thick towels. Place them on top of each other, fold them in half long ways and then roll the ends toward the middle. This is how my incubator ended up at the right temperature. With your set up, you might have to fold the towels over the top of the shoe box, or wrap the towel ends around the outside of the box.
Place the electric heat pad on top of the towels. I have my Grandmother's heat pad. I was informed that some of the new heat pads do turn themselves off after being on for two hours.
Place the shoe box on top of the heat pad and monitor the temperature. This is what Maisie's at home incubator looks like.
Maisie's Portable Incubator has a few more steps. Place the entire incubator on top of one or two tie edge fleece blankets. This will depend on how cold the inside of your vehicle / outside temperature will get down to.
Cover some of the vent holes, not all, to keep some of the heat inside the incubator. This is also another way to regulate the temperature. The more holes that are covered, the warmer the incubator will be.
Cover the incubator completely with the fleece blankets. The end that the vent holes are not covered by the smaller pieces of fleece needs to not be so snuggly covered by the blankets. Your joey will need some fresh air. Just for picture purposes, I left part of it uncovered.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00578Custom.jpg[/img]
To make this a Portable Incubator, you will need a house hold plug to cigarette lighter converter. I purchased mine at a Truck Stop some time back.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00577Custom.jpg[/img]
Here is what Maisie's Portable Incubator looks like.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00572Custom.jpg[/img]
Here is Maisie at 44 days oop, she weighs 44 grams. She is eating an alien.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00569Custom.jpg[/img]
I started with a plastic shoe box. I drilled holes in the top for venting.
I then placed a 6" X 6" piece of fleece that had been wet and completely squeezed out (no more water would squeeze out) in the bottom of the shoe box.
I placed 3-6 pieces of fleece on top of that, cut slightly larger than the bottom of the shoe box. Then, the Flukers Thermometer and the Acu Rite "Outdoor" Probe on top of the pieces of fleece. The temperature can be raised by removing a layer of fleece. If your joey burrows under the layers of fleece, you will have to put your thermometers where your joey ends up. The ideal temperature is 95 degrees. Your incubator should be from 90 degrees to 95 degrees.
You will need two large, thick towels. Place them on top of each other, fold them in half long ways and then roll the ends toward the middle. This is how my incubator ended up at the right temperature. With your set up, you might have to fold the towels over the top of the shoe box, or wrap the towel ends around the outside of the box.
Place the electric heat pad on top of the towels. I have my Grandmother's heat pad. I was informed that some of the new heat pads do turn themselves off after being on for two hours.
Place the shoe box on top of the heat pad and monitor the temperature. This is what Maisie's at home incubator looks like.
Maisie's Portable Incubator has a few more steps. Place the entire incubator on top of one or two tie edge fleece blankets. This will depend on how cold the inside of your vehicle / outside temperature will get down to.
Cover some of the vent holes, not all, to keep some of the heat inside the incubator. This is also another way to regulate the temperature. The more holes that are covered, the warmer the incubator will be.
Cover the incubator completely with the fleece blankets. The end that the vent holes are not covered by the smaller pieces of fleece needs to not be so snuggly covered by the blankets. Your joey will need some fresh air. Just for picture purposes, I left part of it uncovered.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00578Custom.jpg[/img]
To make this a Portable Incubator, you will need a house hold plug to cigarette lighter converter. I purchased mine at a Truck Stop some time back.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00577Custom.jpg[/img]
Here is what Maisie's Portable Incubator looks like.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00572Custom.jpg[/img]
Here is Maisie at 44 days oop, she weighs 44 grams. She is eating an alien.
[img]http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/leighbentley123/Portable%20Incubator/DSC00569Custom.jpg[/img]