Anyone have an incubator?

[tjdmom]

I'm thinking of investing in one or making one myself. Does anyone have one already and would you share where you got it or if you made it yourself, how you did it?

Thanks!
Theresa

[erickajm]

bump ~ I don't have one... but maybe if you go to your local feed mill or tractor supply store.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by tjdmom

I'm thinking of investing in one or making one myself. Does anyone have one already and would you share where you got it or if you made it yourself, how you did it?

Thanks!
Theresa

Try Revivalanimal.com

[Teresamag]

Originally Posted by tjdmom

I'm thinking of investing in one or making one myself. Does anyone have one already and would you share where you got it or if you made it yourself, how you did it?

Thanks!
Theresa

I don't have anything to do with these people but I've seen their incubator with my own eyes and it seems to work wonderfully. It seems a pretty easy concept but they seem to have it all worked out.
Santo Hill Kennel
Good luck,
Teresa

[Breny]

I'm on another wonderful Breeder group and they were just talking about these. I will have to get you the link. its a yahoo group through your email. Its very good.

Originally Posted by tjdmom

I'm thinking of investing in one or making one myself. Does anyone have one already and would you share where you got it or if you made it yourself, how you did it?

Thanks!
Theresa

[bjh]

I do not have a incubator but I am doing a little research in making one. If you have a litter of premature puppies it is really hard for them to survive unless you really know what you are doing. Here is a interesting article on caring for premature puppies.

How To Care for the Premature Puppy - by Roberta Jamieson

[tjdmom]

Originally Posted by bjh

I do not have a incubator but I am doing a little research in making one. If you have a litter of premature puppies it is really hard for them to survive unless you really know what you are doing. Here is a interesting article on caring for premature puppies.

How To Care for the Premature Puppy - by Roberta Jamieson

Thanks! I'm thinking it's one of those things you'll probably never use unless you don't have one and then you definately going to need one. Is it just me that has that kind of luck?

[bjh]

Originally Posted by tjdmom

Thanks! I'm thinking it's one of those things you'll probably never use unless you don't have one and then you definately going to need one. Is it just me that has that kind of luck?

No it is not just you. I have had two premature litters in the 12 years I have been breeding. It was heart breaking. I am not sure an incubator would have saved them because they were gasping for air and had no hair. So sad.

[Jokerman]

I used to rehab orphaned baby squirrels, and this is the incubator my DH built for me. I hope it might help.

How to make an Incubator

It is the first incubator mentioned on that link. DH built it from materials we had on hand, and it works great for infant squirrels. I have used it with numerous baby squirrels. I don't know how well it would work for a puppy, and I don't have time right now to check out what puppy incubators are supposed to look like. This incubator works very well for baby squirrels though, as long as they are young enough to still need to be stimulated to potty. Once they start pottying on their own, you must move them into other containment. But this worked very well for me for the first couple weeks of their lives. I have raised babies from birth in this type incubator, and newborn squirrels are so tiny, 2-3 of them can fit in a film canister. I would think this incubator would work well for yorkies too, as long as you are still stimulating them to potty. Once they start to pee on their own, you must get them out of that warm plastic box! I think it would work well to get you out of the critical stage though.

[tjdmom]

Thanks! It's funny that you mention that as my vet will care for orphaned wild animals and I was thinking about volunteering my help to care for squirrels and small animals and thought an incubator would be helpful for that as well!

Originally Posted by Jokerman

I used to rehab orphaned baby squirrels, and this is the incubator my DH built for me. I hope it might help.

How to make an Incubator

It is the first incubator mentioned on that link. DH built it from materials we had on hand, and it works great for infant squirrels. I have used it with numerous baby squirrels. I don't know how well it would work for a puppy, and I don't have time right now to check out what puppy incubators are supposed to look like. This incubator works very well for baby squirrels though, as long as they are young enough to still need to be stimulated to potty. Once they start pottying on their own, you must move them into other containment. But this worked very well for me for the first couple weeks of their lives. I have raised babies from birth in this type incubator, and newborn squirrels are so tiny, 2-3 of them can fit in a film canister. I would think this incubator would work well for yorkies too, as long as you are still stimulating them to potty. Once they start to pee on their own, you must get them out of that warm plastic box! I think it would work well to get you out of the critical stage though.

[char7]

I've made one myself. Nothing fancy but very handy. I use a small clear plastic storage box with a hinged lid(Wal-Mart). I set the box on a heating pad but leave a small area off the heating pad to stay a little cooler. I also lay a towel inside the box with a thermometer on it to watch the temperature. For oxygen, I run a clear plastic hose from the regulator on the oxygen bottle into a jar of water that is inside the box. I adjust the regulator so the water bubbles steadily, but not violently. Put the puppy in, close the lid, watch the temp, and if the puppy is gasping, the gasping should subside. It works beautifully and makes a world of difference in how fast a puppy comes out of a tough birth or prematurity.

You can buy a small oxygen bottle or if your lucky like me, hubby has one that he uses with his cutting torch and I just bring that bottle inside of the house when whelping puppies.

[mardel]

I am also looking on buying one or making one.In the Santo Hill Incubator I see they use a Humidifier Bottle,does anyone know how to conect it to the oxygen to make it work?
Thanks!!!

[char7]

Originally Posted by mardel

I am also looking on buying one or making one.In the Santo Hill Incubator I see they use a Humidifier Bottle,does anyone know how to conect it to the oxygen to make it work?
Thanks!!!

You would use the plastic tubing and attach it to the top of the bottle. The tubing would be coming from your oxygen bottle. It does the same thing as my home made one where I place the tubing from the oxygen bottle into the jar of water.

If you bought the kit, all you should need to make the thing work is the oxygen bottle.

[mardel]

Thanks!

[tjdmom]

Originally Posted by char7

I've made one myself. Nothing fancy but very handy. I use a small clear plastic storage box with a hinged lid(Wal-Mart). I set the box on a heating pad but leave a small area off the heating pad to stay a little cooler. I also lay a towel inside the box with a thermometer on it to watch the temperature. For oxygen, I run a clear plastic hose from the regulator on the oxygen bottle into a jar of water that is inside the box. I adjust the regulator so the water bubbles steadily, but not violently. Put the puppy in, close the lid, watch the temp, and if the puppy is gasping, the gasping should subside. It works beautifully and makes a world of difference in how fast a puppy comes out of a tough birth or prematurity.

You can buy a small oxygen bottle or if your lucky like me, hubby has one that he uses with his cutting torch and I just bring that bottle inside of the house when whelping puppies.

Thanks! This is what I'm thinking about doing. Now which size plastic storage box do you get? I'm thinking it must be bigger than the shoe box size to accomodate the jar of water? Thanks for the info!