# Ootheca Incubation Chamber



## lectricblueyes (Jun 12, 2009)

[SIZE=14pt]*Ootheca / Nymph Incubation Chamber*[/SIZE]
*Purpose:* For those who want to have full control over the humidity and temperature of their Ootheca or Nymphs.

*Why?* Without taking things too far or spending too much money, I wanted a controlled environment to better-hatch my most prized ooth. This was all inspired by my recent acquisition of an Idolomantis Ooth for $120 from my buddy Don  (Thanks!). Using Weather.com I was able to monitor the temp/humidity in the Idols home land and mimic those in my chamber for best results. Also, I love my A/C being turned on when I get home from work. Maybe it's a stress thing but I like it down to a good 68 degrees and at night, in the springtime, while I"m cozy in my comforter it can get down to the mid 50's.


*Cost: * Roughly $40-$60

*Items Needed:*

- 10 Gallon Tank ($15-$20)
- Temp/Humity Gauge ($10-$20)
- Clear Shipping Tape ($1.99)
- Heat Pad ($10-$20)
- Carbine Glass Drill Bit (Optional)
- Paper Towels
- Common 32oz mantis cup (Holes in top, cloth over holes, Hole with foam stopper)
- Humidity Dripper (Optional) ($12)

*10-Gallon Tank*
It doesn't HAVE to be a 10-gallon tank. The one I found at a reptile shop was $19.99 and it included a simple screen lid that slides on and off. I didn't want anything too expensive because I knew I was going to drill a hole in the screen top, and a hole in the glass.

*Temp/Humidity Gauge*
Anything from one of those thin thermometers you can stick to the inside of the tank for $5 at almost any pet shop, or you can go fancy like me and drop $10 on an LCD temp and another $10 on an LCD Humidity reader with the little probes that fit in the cup. Obviously, the the probe is nice because it gives you more accurate readings inside the cup though you absolutely can stick that $5 strip onto the outside of your 32oz cup for a fairly accurate reading. The point is, you should be within +/- 5F of the temp inside the cup. HERE is a link to a dual guage found at most any PetCo for $11. Same price THIS one works too.

*Shipping Tape*
The idea is to seal the lid of the tank but not seal the whole lid. If your goal is 85F during the day and 75F at night, and your current reading is at 80F (day), you can add the strips across the top as you see fit in order to "trap" the heat and raise the temp slowly until you know how much tape you need. Never place tape inside the actual incubation cup, nymphs will get stuck and will die. Clear is better, allows you to look down into the chamber.

*Heat Pad*
You can find these at almost any pharmacy for $10-15. The cheaper and smaller the better. Walmart sells one with an LCD screen and it lets you control the temp. It's $20 and works great. HERE is the link to that. If it's too big to stick on the bottom of the tank, don't worry.. it's not really about WHERE you place it, it's all about how warm you can keep the whole tank, not just one spot in the tank. I don't suggest you glue it into the tank, you'll probably never get it out if you use certain glues and a hot glue gun will not work because it will most likely just melt when the pad is warmed up.

*Drill Bit*
It's not required but what you need is a diamond shaped glass-cutting drill bit. If you already have one, great, if you don't... just skip it. It's not a matter of functionality, it's only a matter of superficial looks. They cost from $5/$10 each depending on size and make. Be sure to read the instructions on the drill bit, you should have water handy and know what RPM to set your drill to or you might crack/destroy the glass. 

*Paper Towels*
I needed paper towels to get the bottom of my cup off of the heat pad. Direct contact with the heat pad was causing the cup to warm up too fast, and too hot. Also, it's needed to absorb the water you are going to spray into the habitat in order to maintain long-term humidity.

*Mantis Cup*
Not much to say. Hot-Glue your ooth to the top of your cup. Place some humidity foam at the bottom to soften the blow and keep the hot temp off of your nymphs newborn feet. Foam stopper at the top for feeding and your set to go.

*Humidity Dripper*
I found a nice little $12 device at Petco. You fill it with water, pump it for pressure, and than you run a little plastic hose from the dripper to the tank and it slowly drips your water into there keeping a stable level of humidity in the chamber for days at a time (depending on your drip). HERE is a link to that. This is completely optional but be prepared to mist the inside of the chamber 2-3 times a day depending on your humidity level.



*How to Get Er Done*

1. Place heat pad inside of the 10 Gallon tank. Make sure it can't freely flop around in case you need to move your chamber, you don't want it to knock your cup around too much or knock your gauges off.

2. Place 2-3 layers of paper towel in the bottom of the container.

3. Attach your temp/humidity gauge to the inside of your tank and ignore step 4. If you have probes that go in the cup, step 4A is next.

4. Plug in the heat pad, close the lid. Wait 1 hour. Write down the temp and humidity.

4A. If you have gauges with probes, place the probes into the 32oz cup **WITH NO OOTH** inside the chamber

If temp/humidity is good, go to step 6.

If temp/Humidity is too low, go to step 5.

If temp/humiity is too high, go to step 5A.

5. your temp is too low, you need to trap heat inside of your chamber. To do this you can add strips of shipping tape to the top of your chamber until the temp rises. Remember to take room temperature into account here. If you are reading temperatures at night and it's 60 in the house, that means when it hits 70 during the day your chamber will also increase by 8-10. It's really not that difficult. It just takes time to wait on temps/humid and some slight changes to the tank. If the tape is not enough, you might need to return the heat pad and go for something bigger/hotter. You can also remove a layer or two from your paper towels but try to keep SOME paper towel in there to absorb your humidity.

5A. If your temp is too high you need to allow more breathing space for your heat to escape but doing this will require more spraying to incease humidity since your humidity will be escaping with your heat. You can cut holes in the screen top of our tank or try to find a smaller heat pad. As a last resort, you can buy a clamp-lamp and a heat bulb placed outside of your tank to heat things up.

6. Be sure to remove everything from the chamber before you drill a hole in the tank to feed your heat pad wire through. You will also need to cut the electrical wire which you should not do while it's plugged in. You CANNOT have bare wire at ANY time. You will kill yourself, someone else, or start a fire and kill your whole family. I HIGHLY suggest anyone under 18 consult with a parent before doing this. I used electrical tape along with those little plastic gizmos to plug the wires into. I went crazy on the tape and wound it around the bare wires at least 10 times!

7. Clean out any glass fragments/dust left over inside the chamber

8. Test the temp/humidity again. The new hole could take away some heat/humidity. Be sure to wait at least an hour for an accurate reading.

9. Finally, place your Ootheca cup inside the chamber and you are all set. 

That should give you realistic/authentic temps/humidity for your ooth to hatch faster than simple room-temp. There are many solutions for increasing temp. I've heard of people putting the cups in warmer parts of the house or on top of a hot-spot on the top of their refrigerator. Whatever works. Either way, warm temps that mimic the natural habitate will speed up the hatching process and provide good moisture/temps for the nymphs to fall out of the Ooth.

Here is a picture of mine:


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## Katnapper (Jun 12, 2009)

Wow. That's all I have to say, Dave, and I'll say it again.... Wow!


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 12, 2009)

Oh I love all the tips, thanks Lectric! ps heres a tip, use denatured alcohol instead of water. Take some glass putty or heat a candle and make a well with the putty or candle wax keep the alcohol in the drilling spot to keep it cool, no drinkie the alcohol, is not good for you! pss i shall hurry and print this post in case u erase it, I no trust u :lol:


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## lectricblueyes (Jun 12, 2009)

hibiscusmile said:


> Oh I love all the tips, thanks Lectric! ps heres a tip, use denatured alcohol instead of water. Take some glass putty or heat a candle and make a well with the putty or candle wax keep the alcohol in the drilling spot to keep it cool, no drinkie the alcohol, is not good for you! pss i shall hurry and print this post in case u erase it, I no trust u :lol:


I wouldn't trust me either  

I could simplify the entire post with this:

1. Get candle

2. Get plate

3. Put cup on plate

4. Done.


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## OGIGA (Jun 12, 2009)

Dude, you are determined!


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## PhilinYuma (Jun 13, 2009)

LectricBlueyes said:


> I wouldn't trust me either  I could simplify the entire post with this:
> 
> 1. Get candle
> 
> ...


You forgot two steps, I think. 3A. Pour tea in cup and add milk.

3B. Drink tea. Yum!

Also, you mention using clear shipping tape, but you forgot to remind readers to test that the sticky side is down and the shiny side up!


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## pohchunyee (Jun 13, 2009)

It is too much of a hassle for me to build one. I have a portable cooler/heater that I used to incubate my chameleon eggs. Now I also use it to incubate Ooth. It has a termostat where you can increase/ decrease the temperature and it can hold 12 (24 oz.) cup in it. It is self enclosed with a fan to circulate the air in it. Also, it only cost around USD $80 + Shipping. It works magic for me... everything place in there have very high hatching rate!!!! Here are some picture enclosed.











Also, here is a link to buy something similar!! If you google search it... you could get something smaller as cheap as USD $40.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Mini-...l?sec_iid=33969


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## lectricblueyes (Jun 14, 2009)

pohchunyee said:


> It is too much of a hassle for me to build one. I have a portable cooler/heater that I used to incubate my chameleon eggs. Now I also use it to incubate Ooth. It has a termostat where you can increase/ decrease the temperature and it can hold 12 (24 oz.) cup in it. It is self enclosed with a fan to circulate the air in it. Also, it only cost around USD $80 + Shipping. It works magic for me... everything place in there have very high hatching rate!!!! Here are some picture enclosed.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where were you like 1 week ago man!! lol


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 14, 2009)

haha, what a bunch of loons we have here, gotta love us though :lol:


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## [email protected] (Jun 14, 2009)

[SIZE=14pt]*Cool dave *[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt][/SIZE]pohchunyee what is the brand on it? also what is the temp range on it to?


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## pohchunyee (Jun 14, 2009)

Hi ArkBlue,

Here is the link to the specification of the model I have.

http://www.tradeeasy.com/supplier/25070/pr...and-warmer.html

I am not sure when you can get it now but you should be able to find something similar for less than USD $100.


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## The_Asa (Jun 16, 2009)

You cheated =P...lol nice enclosure! I'm sure you'll get a nice hatching rate.


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## pohchunyee (Jun 17, 2009)

ASA - I am not cheating  just that I am in Upstate New York and 8 months of the year the temperature falls anywhere from 20'F - 50'F... which is impossible to incubate the ooth. Thats why I got an incubator...HEHEHEHEHEHE!!! Which works magic.

Also, I get very good hatching rate.... my C.gemmatus ooth hatching average 80 nymphs, chinese average 350+, european and s. carolina 100+ each, idolomantis diabolica, H.brunneriana average 20 nymphs per ooth... !!!! I am very happy with the incubator!!!!


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## [email protected] (Jun 17, 2009)

pohchunyee said:


> Hi ArkBlue,Here is the link to the specification of the model I have.
> 
> http://www.tradeeasy.com/supplier/25070/pr...and-warmer.html
> 
> I am not sure when you can get it now but you should be able to find something similar for less than USD $100.


[SIZE=14pt]Cool man thanks [/SIZE]


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## agent A (Jun 20, 2009)

I have the easiest way to incubate ooths.

Step 1: Get a small container and fill with water.

Step 2: Put in an aquarium heater and put the temperature to around 82.

Step 3: Float the container with the ooth in the water.

Simple huh?


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## beckyl92 (Jun 20, 2009)

agent A said:


> I have the easiest way to incubate ooths.Step 1: Get a small container and fill with water.
> 
> Step 2: Put in an aquarium heater and put the temperature to around 82.
> 
> ...


nice  

it would be pretty bad if the container sunk though!


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## Katnapper (Jun 20, 2009)

agent A said:


> I have the easiest way to incubate ooths.Step 1: Get a small container and fill with water.
> 
> Step 2: Put in an aquarium heater and put the temperature to around 82.
> 
> ...


Actually, the easiest and safest way to incubate them is to just keep them at room temp. and mist a few times a week.


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## agent A (Jun 20, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> nice  it would be pretty bad if the container sunk though!


If it was a plastic container, it probably wouldn't sink.


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## Rick (Jun 20, 2009)

agent A said:


> I have the easiest way to incubate ooths.Step 1: Get a small container and fill with water.
> 
> Step 2: Put in an aquarium heater and put the temperature to around 82.
> 
> ...


Mine is even more simple. Container, half inch spaghnum moss, set on shelf. Done.


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## agent A (Jun 20, 2009)

But does yours raise the temperature to accelerate embryonic growth rate?


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## lectricblueyes (Jun 20, 2009)

agent A said:


> But does yours raise the temperature to accelerate embryonic growth rate?


If you hang out long enough, you'll see we have a group of KISS'ers. (Keep It Simple Stupid).

It's like both sides of the political line, one believes in old, tried, and true ideas and the other side wishes to progress through trial and error.

But, the questions we need to ask, and the ones that will determine what methods we use to incubate (or to not) are as follows:

1. Does creating the same environment as the Ootheca's home region cause the Ooths to have better hatch rates?

2. Does increasing heat/temp truly speed up the hatching and if so at what cost to the number hatched? Is there a tradeoff? (Example: Hot= 1 month, 100 hatch // Room Temp = 2 Months, 125 hatch)

3. If higher temps truly do speed up the hatch process, does this work on ALL species or just tropical/hot climate species?

Bottom line is, are the results worth the effort?


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## gadunka888 (Jun 21, 2009)

maybe you could use an exothermic reaction...... but you have to make sure the temperature is not to high or the ooth will get cooked!


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