I just purchased two systems to monitor egg laying in my greek tortoise pen.
I've been thinking about doing this for about a year. These are on sale now on Amazon, so I ordered them. Should arrive next week.
Last year, I only found 1 nest, and was constantly weighing my female greeks to see who laid. I know for sure that at least one other female laid a nest, and I suspect several females laid. I never found the other nests, despite digging in every possible location I could think of, and wasting a lot of time. Either the eggs in missed nests were infertile, were eaten by ants, or were not laid in a suitible location to hatch. If this system works for me, it should pay for itself fairly quickly. Plus, I might catch some surprising events that occur during the day when I'm at work!
Total cost including shipping was $121.10 for each system (camera, card, and solar panel).
Here is what I ordered.
Moultrie Game Spy Plot Stalker
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ILNMIY/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
SanDisk 16 GB Class 2 SDHC Flash Memory Card
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T9IVCU/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Moultrie Digital Game Camera Power Panel
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DEZ26Y/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Here is the Moultrie website page for the camera
http://www.moultriefeeders.com/productdetail.aspx?id=mfh-dgs-ps
These seem to get poor reviews, due largely to poor battery life, and that you HAVE to have a class 2 sd card with a max size of 16gb, or you'll have storage and automatic shutoff problems.
With the solar panel adapters, and the correct cards, I should be able to monitor my tortoise pen to catch when, where, and who laid eggs. I can't find info on exactly what the angle of view on these cameras are, but I think I'll need both to cover most of my pen.
Here is the product description:
New Moultrie Plot Stalker Digital Hunting Trail Camera.
View 12 hours of activity in 10 minutes. Thanks to the technology of the Moultrie Plot Stalker and time-lapse photography, you can see a full day of activity condensed to a 10-minute video clip. Now you can see what happens on your green field or favorite hunting spot even when you're not there.
Features:
8.0 Megapixels
High-Definition video playback
Upload and share with YouTube, Facebook, Flickr
Simple setup - no tools, no wires!
4 photo resolutions
Time and date stamp on every photo
Picture delay options from 10 seconds to 1 day
Up to 4 daily on/off cycles
LCD display shows Plot Stalker program, images taken, memory and battery capacity
Easy menu navigation buttons
Rugged, weather-resistant case withstands the elements
Operates on 4 AA alkaline batteries (not included)
External power port for optional
Moultrie Power Panel ®
Includes a mounting strap, USB cable and Software CD
Playback speed up to 8X - watch an entire day of video in minutes
Motion Track Advance feature provides ability to skip to the next picture with activity. Rewind, pause and play as well as zoom in and out for maximum scouting experience
Takes up to 3,600 images in one day
Plot Stalker software stitches images into a high-definition video, making it easy to view a full day of activity in minutes!
Panoramic, long range view for maximum field coverage
So, anyone think it'll work?
Steve
I've been thinking about doing this for about a year. These are on sale now on Amazon, so I ordered them. Should arrive next week.
Last year, I only found 1 nest, and was constantly weighing my female greeks to see who laid. I know for sure that at least one other female laid a nest, and I suspect several females laid. I never found the other nests, despite digging in every possible location I could think of, and wasting a lot of time. Either the eggs in missed nests were infertile, were eaten by ants, or were not laid in a suitible location to hatch. If this system works for me, it should pay for itself fairly quickly. Plus, I might catch some surprising events that occur during the day when I'm at work!
Total cost including shipping was $121.10 for each system (camera, card, and solar panel).
Here is what I ordered.
Moultrie Game Spy Plot Stalker
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ILNMIY/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
SanDisk 16 GB Class 2 SDHC Flash Memory Card
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T9IVCU/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Moultrie Digital Game Camera Power Panel
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DEZ26Y/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Here is the Moultrie website page for the camera
http://www.moultriefeeders.com/productdetail.aspx?id=mfh-dgs-ps
These seem to get poor reviews, due largely to poor battery life, and that you HAVE to have a class 2 sd card with a max size of 16gb, or you'll have storage and automatic shutoff problems.
With the solar panel adapters, and the correct cards, I should be able to monitor my tortoise pen to catch when, where, and who laid eggs. I can't find info on exactly what the angle of view on these cameras are, but I think I'll need both to cover most of my pen.
Here is the product description:
New Moultrie Plot Stalker Digital Hunting Trail Camera.
View 12 hours of activity in 10 minutes. Thanks to the technology of the Moultrie Plot Stalker and time-lapse photography, you can see a full day of activity condensed to a 10-minute video clip. Now you can see what happens on your green field or favorite hunting spot even when you're not there.
Features:
8.0 Megapixels
High-Definition video playback
Upload and share with YouTube, Facebook, Flickr
Simple setup - no tools, no wires!
4 photo resolutions
Time and date stamp on every photo
Picture delay options from 10 seconds to 1 day
Up to 4 daily on/off cycles
LCD display shows Plot Stalker program, images taken, memory and battery capacity
Easy menu navigation buttons
Rugged, weather-resistant case withstands the elements
Operates on 4 AA alkaline batteries (not included)
External power port for optional
Moultrie Power Panel ®
Includes a mounting strap, USB cable and Software CD
Playback speed up to 8X - watch an entire day of video in minutes
Motion Track Advance feature provides ability to skip to the next picture with activity. Rewind, pause and play as well as zoom in and out for maximum scouting experience
Takes up to 3,600 images in one day
Plot Stalker software stitches images into a high-definition video, making it easy to view a full day of activity in minutes!
Panoramic, long range view for maximum field coverage
So, anyone think it'll work?
Steve