need help a.s.a.p....vermiculite??

ruru

ruru

New Member
so my girl is digging to lay eggs and they are fertile, i know you need vermiculite but i cannot find any at all around here is there anything i can use as a replacement ? i have coconut fiber & sand & perlite ??possibly?? its to late to order any online and i live out in the middle of nowhere so im really s.o.l with vermiculite :( i have everything else i need for the eggs except substrate... anybody use anything else and have their babies healthy and alive? im expecting her to be done laying tmr. so any quick fixes or am i at a loss? :(
 
You dont have to have them on the vermiculite right away.. Just perlite works well, Im not sure about the water to perlite ratio. Order something online and once you get it, transfer the eggs to the vermiculite. I use hatchrite and works very well. You can get it from LLLReptiles and its pretty cheap.
 
thank you ... but i dont think it will be here in time? or is it ohkay to let them set in the laying bin as long as its kept in the temp range until the stuff gets here?
 
Nothing will happen.. think about it, in nature they remain under a foot or so of dirt for their entire incubation period.
 
thank you veiledchams :)
this is my first time so im being extremely cautious about everything... i bought perlite tonight as a just in case thing im guessing since it isnt as absorbant as vermiculite leave it a little more moist?
 
VeiledChams said:
Nothing will happen.. think about it, in nature they remain under a foot or so of dirt for their entire incubation period.
Click to expand...
true but im affraid of the eggs drowning b.c. of possible extra water at the bottom of the laying bin
 
ohhh another question in the container im transfering them too how deep should i make the substrate?
 
Just squeeze the excess water out before you put the eggs in. If it's only a while I think they should be fine. Just make sure it stays moist. And I would say at least an inch deep.
 
If you want, look for the eggs and feel the soil. If its too moist, take them out and use put them on perlite. If you use the search fucntion, you'll be able to find the water ratio. If it feels fine, leave them in there and wait till what your order arrives.

It'll be alright, dont worry.
 
I do not recommend the use of vermiculite in the egglaying bin...if that's what you're talking about. Vermiculite is great in the egg incubation container...but IMHO moist washed playsand is a good substrate for the female to lay the eggs in.

You should be able to get vermiculite at a garden centre.
 
kinyonga said:
I do not recommend the use of vermiculite in the egglaying bin...if that's what you're talking about. Vermiculite is great in the egg incubation container...but IMHO moist washed playsand is a good substrate for the female to lay the eggs in.

You should be able to get vermiculite at a garden centre.
Click to expand...

This confused me, are you talking about the incubation Ruru? Or as Kinyonga says, the substrate for the egg laying bin?
 
ohh noooo this is for incubation container.
in her egg laying bin is a mixture of 80%sand &20% coconute fiber lol sorry about that
 
Aaah, alright. So what Melric and I have said is correct.. As long as you dont take a long time in getting whatever you'll use, it shouldnt be a problem if the eggs remain the laying container
 
well i just now ordered the hatchrite from LLLreptile hopefully it will be here tuesday so for now im just going to hope and pray they end up ohkay :)
and i will check the moisture of the bottom of her laying bin after she has reburied and return to her normal spot.
 
Let us know how it goes. Remember not to disturb her while laying. And when you're ready to dig the eggs out, do not turn them otherwise you'll kill the egg. Be careful while digging them out.

One piece of advice, patience is a virtue! haha, it'll take a looong time ;)
 
ohhh i can believe that a while back ago she laid her first clutch of eggs ever and i dug them out and it took a good hour and a half to find them all b.c. i wanted to see how they were laid and such :rolleyes: her first clutch ever was 48 eggs wich is rather large from what i heard and i found out i was over feeding her lol so i took everyones advice and havent had her lay until now but she has been mated with one of stephan's babies soo i think one clutch a year isnt to bad? seeing as she was my first chameleon :)
how often should i check the moisture 4 the incubation container? seeing as 8-9 months is a longggg time ...im guessing every 3/4 days?
 
Naaah, for the first 4 months, I checked the eggs once a week. If you wanna be on top of the eggs checking them, I'd get the thermometer/hygrometer with the probes that are connected by wires so you can keep the readout outside the incubator.
 
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