Daily thread? More like puppy update thread!
In case anyone is wondering why their (definitely totally wife-approved) names are Chiko, Skewer, Rissole, Topper, and Wing Ding it's because I have called these guys the "Hot Box Litter". Why hot box? Read on! No tl;dr allowed.
We decided to have an incubator on hand this time around as the peace of mind in having a humidity and temperature controlled space with added oxygen for the pups to live in for a bit if they're struggling was worth the dollars. We opted to build our own as commercial offerings are extremely expensive and have very long lead times. It was made out of a ReptileOne enclosure which has had floor heaters, a custom tube heater up top which is copper pipe wrapped in self regulating heater tape (guaranteed not to burn you or get too hot if the thermostat fails in the on position), a humidifier, a fan for ventilation, and an oxygen concentrator added. Few bullet points below:
- Inkbird aquarium heater controller used for the temperature control as we only need heating, and the aquarium thermostat comes with dual probes that are constantly compared. If the probes read out from each other, the unit shuts down and alarms. This is to prevent you cooking your fish... or in this case puppies... in case of probe failure.
- Inkbird humidity controller powers the humidifier to increase humidity, and a very slow fan (via fan speed controller) to lower humidity. In the dead band of acceptable humidity, neither runs. The fan has a vent panel fitted with the outlet facing downhill so it doesn't lose (much) heat or humidity out the open hole when the fan isn't running.
- Floor heaters are adjustable mat types sandwiched between two layers of plastic grid mesh. This keeps the heaters off the floor (in case of water spills - like puppy widdles!), and away from direct contact with the puppies. There is a layer of vet bed in there anyway but if they squirm their way off the edge this keeps a gap to stop them getting burnt. The heaters are set quite low anyway but still. They could overheat if they were left laying directly on the heater.
- Oxygen concentrator injects oxygen just in front of the humidifier outlet to assist in spreading it around a little as the water vapour flows.
- Currently a couple of magnetic LED battery lights mounted in there. I have an RGB LED rope to mount on the roof but it came too late to be installed before the pups came. Both lights are remote controlled so you can be on the other side of the room and flick the lights on (and dim them or whatever) to check on puppies during the night easily.
Going to redo all the cable in to a nice junction box and hire the thing out for other people to use. It's a huge benefit to have it on hand just in case you need it for those critical first couple of days and buying is a huge expense for something this size.
Anyway, it looks like a hotbox down at the local fatty takeaway so they are named after my favourite selections. Huh... turns out I can do a tl;dr.
