(Water-based Incubator)
Leslie Hall, Opossum Society of the U.S. Director of Rehabilitation
These inexpensive, easy to make incubators are a must for any wildlife rehabilitator
raising young infants, “pinkies”. The young opossums are not able to thermoregulate
(maintain their own body temperature) and will die outside of the pouch unless the
proper conditions are met. The incubator provides 2 basic necessities: heat and
humidity. Now you can make your own homemade water-based incubator, a
“Waterbator”, with these easy-to-follow plans.
Materials Required:
2 plastic containers (Rubbermaid®) of the same size (I prefer 17L, 18 gallon size)
1 matching lid
1 100 Watt Electronic Aquarium Heater (submersible, adjustable), Tronic®
1 Heater Guard (100 Watt, 20 cm), Tronic®
1 Thermometer
Distilled water
Optional Materials:
Hygrometer, Bionaire®
Laminated feeding chart and schedule planner
Dry erase pen
Tape or cord
Fun Tak® or Velcro®
Tools:
Drill with bits
Saw or tin shears (capable of cutting plastic)
Tape (duct or other strong tape)
Paper hole reinforcements
Steps:
1. Decide where to place air holes. I placed holes on the sides, about 2 inches apart,
rather than the top. Warm air rises. You want to keep the heat in, not going out the top.
Use paper hole reinforcements to mark where you want to drill the holes.
2. Drill holes through center of reinforcement tabs. Smooth rough edges with a fingernail
file.
3. Saw through the lid crosswise. This will allow you to open just half the lid when you
need to check infants, feed, clean, etc. thereby preventing heat loss.
4. Tape across top of cut area leaving about 1 inch on each side tape-free so lid can
bend. Also apply tape loosely on the bottom thus allowing lid to bend back.
5. Place the Heater Guard over the Electronic Aquarium Heater. This is optional but
since I am safety conscience I highly recommend this. The protectors are inexpensive.
Place the heating element in the bottom of one of the containers securing with suction
cup included with the heater.
6. Fill with enough warm water to cover heater. It is best to use distilled water to prevent
mineralization on your heater. Place remaining container with lid on top.
7. If you will be moving the incubator than I recommend temporarily attaching the 2
containers together for extra safety. This is important because if you move the incubator
and forget to hold from the bottom you will drop the bottom part and spill hot water. Fun
Tak®, tape or Velcro® placed between the 2 containers will temporarily hold the
containers together. Always hold from the bottom when transporting!
8. Place layers of ravel-free bedding inside the incubator. Place a flexi thermometer
next to where infants will be sleeping to monitor the temperature in their immediate
vicinity.
9. Place a hygrometer in the incubator and check periodically. Place in location where it
can be read without opening incubator. Remember you want to keep heat and humidity
in so don’t keep opening incubator. Temperature should be set at 100 degrees F. This
will warm the air to 90-95 degrees F and humidity around 75-80%. If you find the
humidity is not high enough then secure a plastic bottle filled with warm water and cotton
balls to the inside of the incubator away from the infants. I use a plastic pill bottle with
holes drilled into the lid to prevent infants from going into the hot water. If too hot, place
towel around bottle to prevent infants from coming into contact with it and becoming
burned.
10. Optional: Make a daily feeding chart including spaces to mark feeding times, check
off when fed, urination/defecation/appetite (UDA) and any additional notes. Laminate.
Attach chart to the lid with tape. Use a dry erase marker attached to the incubator to
prevent pen loss. Marker can be attached with Velcro®, tape or string.
11. Note: Accumulated moisture in the Waterbator is NORMAL. If you believe there
is too much condensation on the bottom of the lid then you may wipe periodically
or drill more holes as long as you remain within the humidity range.
Sample Chart
Copy or create your own to match your needs.
Laminate. Attach to Critter Care Waterbator.
Intake Date: ________
# Opossums: ________
Daily Feeding and Weight Record
Feeding # Time √ Fed UDA Date Weight
1
2
3
4
5
6
Notes: