Perlite or Vermiculite

[ronstafari]

All the perlite I've found is miracle gro enriched. Which I'm assuming means fertilizer. Should I just use vermiculite. Are there any other mediums I can use. Not having any luck finding vermiculite

 

[sandrachameleon]

damp sand or coconut fiber also works, but take more effort to monitor/adjust. I'd keep looking for the vermiculite.

 

[NHenn]

I believe Home Depot sells Vermiculite.

 

[junglefries]

Home depot sells organic vermiculite. organic perlite is only sold at your local nursery for about $7 a bag. neither lowes or hd sell the organic perlite.

 

[fluxlizard]

I drive once a year about 90 minutes each way to get big bags of perlite from a nursery.

In a pinch you can try other substrates- sphagnam moss slightly damp is how the first chameleon article I ever read on breeding did it (Robert Bustard british herp society journal).

Once I even hatched blacksnake eggs in dampened paper towels.

I've seen people use soil and others use sand or cocoa fiber for other lizards.

The trick is just something to hold the moisture so humidity is correct. Peat moss and vermiculite are nice because they don't have stuff in them that gets moldy and the larger particle sizes allow decent airflow around egg and limit the amount of moisture in contact with the egg...

Check your local nurseries.

Sometimes petshops also have special premoistened mix marketed for incubating reptile eggs- I can't remember the name of the product now though because I've never used it...

 

[reptoman]

I've been able to find coarse vermiculite at pretty much any feed store around here. You might have to buy a giant bag but it will not go bad. Usually costs around $20 or so.

 

[ronstafari]

I drive once a year about 90 minutes each way to get big bags of perlite from a nursery.

In a pinch you can try other substrates- sphagnam moss slightly damp is how the first chameleon article I ever read on breeding did it (Robert Bustard british herp society journal).

Once I even hatched blacksnake eggs in dampened paper towels.

I've seen people use soil and others use sand or cocoa fiber for other lizards.

The trick is just something to hold the moisture so humidity is correct. Peat moss and vermiculite are nice because they don't have stuff in them that gets moldy and the larger particle sizes allow decent airflow around egg and limit the amount of moisture in contact with the egg...

Check your local nurseries.

Sometimes petshops also have special premoistened mix marketed for incubating reptile eggs- I can't remember the name of the product now though because I've never used it...

Thanks after driving around a bit yesterday I found a giant bag at lowes.

 

[reptoman]

I drive once a year about 90 minutes each way to get big bags of perlite from a nursery.

In a pinch you can try other substrates- sphagnam moss slightly damp is how the first chameleon article I ever read on breeding did it (Robert Bustard british herp society journal).

Once I even hatched blacksnake eggs in dampened paper towels.

I've seen people use soil and others use sand or cocoa fiber for other lizards.

The trick is just something to hold the moisture so humidity is correct. Peat moss and vermiculite are nice because they don't have stuff in them that gets moldy and the larger particle sizes allow decent airflow around egg and limit the amount of moisture in contact with the egg...

Check your local nurseries.

Sometimes petshops also have special premoistened mix marketed for incubating reptile eggs- I can't remember the name of the product now though because I've never used it...

Are you thinking of hatchrite?

 

[TCMontium]

Isn't Hatchrite just perlite, aren't they same?

 

[fluxlizard]

I was thinking of hatchrite.
I don't know what it is- only that it comes pre-moistened I think.