Preparing Vermiculite...

[SoCaliSon]

Okay so I have been looking everywhere for a store to buy Vermiculite and I finally found it at Home Depot.. unfortunately I had to buy a 3.5 cubic foot bag of it. Only size they had. My first time buying some and using it... I heard somewhere that you had to sanitize it somehow...like bake it? Tips anyone? I have eggs to dig up tonight.

~Joe

 

[Julirs]

Joe-Make sure it does not have fertilizers in it like Miracle Grow. If not-then just mix it like this: (3) 32 oz cups of Vermiculite and 3 measured cups of water. (Perfect Mixture)

Are these my "Grandlizards"?

 

[ciafardo 4]

I have never heard that just mix it with water to a consist that when you squeeze a hand full just a few drops of water come out i have hatched many reptile eggs in this stuff and they all came out fine i never cooked it hope this helps

 

[ciafardo 4]

Joe-Make sure it does not have fertilizers in it like Miracle Grow. If not-then just mix it like this: (3) 32 oz cups of Vermiculite and 3 measured cups of water. (Perfect Mixture)

Are these my "Grandlizards"?

Yes i made that mistake luckily i saw it when i got it home who knows how big the eggs would get in miracle grow

 

[sandrachameleon]

i used it straight outta the bag

 

[SoCaliSon]

Sounds good! Yes Juli... They sure are! She was looking a little lumpy still after laying the other night... I actually found her sleeping on the sand when she was done... I put her in the shower...and gave her a good belly rub and decided to leave the bin in a few more days. Sure enough... The next morning she was digging again. I am going to start digging now and we'll see how many eggs we got...

 

[SoCaliSon]

Hey while I am at it... I have always wondered if I was making it hard on myself... Do you guys have any tips that you use when excavating eggs?

 

[Julirs]

I remember digging up Lombardi's clutch-my first-and freaking out the entire time! Just use you hand and carefully dig to the eggs.

 

[SoCaliSon]

Okay thats the way Ive been doing it... Talk about an excruciating process though. =)

 

[Syn]

I would be so scared to break one! And if I did I'd start crying. This is why I'll probably never be able to breed these little things.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I've never sanitizes my vermiculite. You are best to use the chunky kind. The really fine stuff does not allow for easy airflow to the underside of the egg. I weigh my vermiculite to water at a 1:1 ratio. In the past , using the squeeze test , I always tended to overhydate the mix.

I find that starting 4 holes in the bucket for your cham , will make excavating easier, as you only dig up the one hole , out of four , that is completely buried. Takes the guess work out of where to find them.

 

[SoCaliSon]

Alright... 49 nice big plump eggs! These are a lot bigger than the other Veiled eggs I am incubating.

 

[summoner12]

I just kept an eye to see where Caddie had dug and then went to that spot when she was done. I also kept in mind how far she dug and as i got close started to be more careful.

 

[Kent67]

It used to be recommended to add water to the vermiculite and then microwave it all for a minute or so as a means of sterilization. I can't imagine any kind of bacteria living in a bag of that stuff, with no food or moisture, in any kind of numebrs that you'd need to worry about though. Still, when I used to do it, it certainly didn't hurt anything either.

 

[Julirs]

Alright... 49 nice big plump eggs! These are a lot bigger than the other Veiled eggs I am incubating.

Wow! Nice, BIG, descendents of Leon and Carla style eggs!

 

[Lancecham]

Lowes carries a much smaller bag of vermiculite.

 

[BocaJan]

Congrats on the eggs! I always think they are a long time in coming, but now the wait really begins!

 

[kinyonga]

Syn...the shells on the eggs of veiled and panther chameleons are not hard but rubbery so unless you are very rough with them or squash them hard they won't be damaged.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Some added input

It used to be recommended to add water to the vermiculite and then microwave it all for a minute or so as a means of sterilization.

If your vermiculite were wet when you bought it, I'd be worried. Otherwise, its pretty sterile to begin with, as its made in a very high-temp process. Just food for thought, but eggs are laid in dirt. Common ground bacteria do not hurt good eggs. Bad eggs will mold regardless of what you do. Mold on a bd egg will nto attack a good egg. Bad eggs need not be removed, but that is your choice to make.

I've never sanitizes my vermiculite. You are best to use the chunky kind. The really fine stuff does not allow for easy airflow to the underside of the egg. I weigh my vermiculite to water at a 1:1 ratio. In the past , using the squeeze test , I always tended to overhydate the mix.

Course grade (about half of the granules are 1/8" cubes, the rest slightly smaller) works best. The 1:1 (by weight) water ratio has been used for decades, but is also based on using the courser grades. You can imagine that a fine grade would weigh much more by volume, and therefore the weight ratio of water would be much more (too much) using a fine grade. With the course grades, the volume to volume comes out to about 9 parts vemiculite to one part water, but weighing is more accurate. If you can squeeze water out of it, its too wet. Note: Home Depot and Lowes usually only carry the medium-fine grades, while specialty garden shops will carry courser grades as well. Call around.

Eggs are safer when buried.