# Vermiculite? Perlite? Eco earth/coconut fibre? I'm so confused :(



## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Vermiculite was ok, but was hard to keep moist.

Perlite is looking ok, but I think I put a drop too much water, so now my eggs are showing mould.

I am pretty sure perlite is good, but in the book it says one part water to two parts perlite in weight, this didn't seem a lot so I put 1 & 1/2 parts water, is this what I did wrong?

What's this eco earth, coconut fibre people use?

I really would like to know what people use for their Crested Gecko eggs and what works well.

I want it idiot proof too, like how much water to perlite ratio!

Le sigh...


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## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

Eco earth is a variant of composts without the added nutrients because nothing is grown in it.

I found it incredibly hard to incubate cresty eggs your not alone.

Marina


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Marinam2 said:


> Eco earth is a variant of composts without the added nutrients because nothing is grown in it.
> 
> I found it incredibly hard to incubate cresty eggs your not alone.
> 
> Marina


Thanks for that... I don't want to lose another two just because I am "not sure".

So I went with perlite because that's what the rhac book suggests, but I will actually follow the guidelines properly...

I really am confused as to how some people on here have a 100% hatch rate when out of the 6 eggs I have ever had <not bred> 3 didn't make it, one did, and now these two are showing mould


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## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

I had massive sucess breeding water dragons i had a contant stream of anything up to 16 as both females sychronised ever 8 weeks as well. I used vermiculite with them and then moved on to breeding leos and cresties and leos were fine in vermiculite but the cresties we incredibly different and difficult but i didnt think to move to perlite.

Marina


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Marinam2 said:


> I had massive sucess breeding water dragons i had a contant stream of anything up to 16 as both females sychronised ever 8 weeks as well. I used vermiculite with them and then moved on to breeding leos and cresties and leos were fine in vermiculite but the cresties we incredibly different and difficult but i didnt think to move to perlite.
> 
> Marina


Well after researching a bit, some use vermiculite, and some use perlite, so I will be re-reading on the humidity side, ratio of water to substrate, and I might incubate some in vermiculite and some in perlite.

I really don't want it to be trial and error, but I guess we all have to learn.

Thanks for your input 

Stickyfeet.co.uk - Breeding Crested Geckos

Crested Lady Reptiles- Crested Care

See this guy just leaves them in their lay tub!

Herpisphere :: Crested Geckos and More

Keep reading and try it all to see what works best then I guess..


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## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

I had two females using the same tub so i couldnt leave mine. Also i think a lot of people prefer to have the egg where they can monitor it and take steps to safeguard the baby from the adults who do often eat offspring.
The only eggs i have ever heard being left in vivs are the stickers the tokays and wall geckos etc
Marina


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## frenchy1979 (Oct 30, 2009)

*vermiculite*

sorry to but into your thread.

I have only ever used vermiculite, i know what you mean with the mold. however i used mine in ventilated cricket tubs, first of all i soaked the vermic in purified water. then left it in by my boiler for a couple of days, once thew eggs were laid i transported them over to my boxes. they would get a spray every 2-3 days, just a lite misting lie a viv would. plus the evaporation within the tub was just right, was never too dry or too wet. 

the eco earth or coco balm is ok, but does dry out. but is still agood one for incubating, again just misted every couple of days.

trial an error isnt something that we want to be doing with these little beauties, how submerged are your eggs. mine were only ever say 5-10 mm under the surface, i would always let fresh air into the boxes and put a different bit of vermic back over the top once i had checked them.

sorry guys, i dont suppose this helps as you want something that is less time consuming and maintenace free.


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

frenchy1979 said:


> sorry to but into your thread.
> 
> I have only ever used vermiculite, i know what you mean with the mold. however i used mine in ventilated cricket tubs, first of all i soaked the vermic in purified water. then left it in by my boiler for a couple of days, once thew eggs were laid i transported them over to my boxes. they would get a spray every 2-3 days, just a lite misting lie a viv would. plus the evaporation within the tub was just right, was never too dry or too wet.
> 
> ...


You're not butting in at all.

I have gone back to vermiculite, go tme some atheltes foot powder and hoping for the best. I never experienced mold before with vermiculite so I'll stick with it.

Not bothered whether it is maintenance free, my point is what is best as I got confused and been struggling.

I check my eggs every day, I am that bad, so any misting to do is a great idea, although I left a small lid of water in there to help.

I just guess I put too much water in with the perlite, or the egg is not meant to hatch... 

Trial and error is how they got to do this in the first place, and I didn't mean it to come across as I don't care, this is why I posted for help, but only two people have answered so far! Thanks for that though 

Now I see what has been happening and have rectified it, and all should improve 

My eggs are submerged 1/2-2/3 in the vermiculite, which is put in water, then hand squeezed out.
I poke a hole for the eggs and pat it gently round the edge.
They are in a cricket tub, in a poly box with heatmat and pulse proportional thermostat.

We all have to learn, and I am learning it the hard way, but I am persisting with these eggs, have wiped them and carefully replaced them, adding the athletes foot has helped, I am all for hard work when it comes to animal lives 100%. 

Thanks x


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## negri21 (Oct 8, 2007)

i used vermiculite with an air tight tub and had no problems . . just need to air the eggs once or twice a week . 

last year i used this stuff and have had just as good results . 

Repashy Superhatch

takes the guess work out of water/substrate ratios . 

you could also try using this .
SIM Incubator Container

takes away the chance of eggs spoiling on the substrate . although ive read it works really well . i havent tried it this way .


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

negri21 said:


> i used vermiculite with an air tight tub and had no problems . . just need to air the eggs once or twice a week .
> 
> last year i used this stuff and have had just as good results .
> 
> ...


Thanks very much  I haven't checked my eggs since last night when I dusted them with athletes foot powder once I cleaned them off again <at this rate if they hatch one will have to be called dizzy!> so am hoping when I check them later, it will be good.

SO only supposed to air them once a week?

So I should keep the lid closed properly? I thought I had to have it open a little to keep the air flowing a little...

Jac


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## biohazard156 (Nov 11, 2007)

I used perlite only for all my eggs, and lost very few (apart from the non fertile ones anyway). I didn't really do much to it other than wet it and make sure it didn't drip. I aired it at least once a week but taking the lid off, sometimes it was more as I was taking hatchlings out etc.


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## elchopchop (Nov 23, 2008)

*Perlite*

I use perlite for all my species. I tend to find that no matter which species is being incubated, if the eggs are in direct contact with a moist surface they will start to grow mould especially eggs that are prone to lengthy incubation periods (eg chameleons) I get round this by mixing up the perlite so that it is slightly damper than it needs to be and then place a dry layer about 1cm deep ontop of this wet layer. The eggs are then placed onto the dry layer. This way the eggs are less prone to moulding but still recieve the benefits of the humidity from the wet layer beneath. I have had good success rates with this method and reccomend using a shallow bowl of water in the incubator to keep up the humidity.
Good luck and I hope this helps... :2thumb:


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

I have always used vermiculite - as much water squeezed out as possible then placed in air-tight containers. As they are air-tight, you don't lose water through evaporation, so you don't have to guess at how much water you need to add back into the tub.

Same as biohazard really - I just took the lid off every so often, gave it a waft then straight back on again!


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Again, thanks for all the comments, I am going to take all your methods, and do it right this time.

I think I have lost these eggs, proper crumpled in on themselves  I feel really bad, I have done so much research too, but so good to hear from successfull methods.

Thanks x


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## tina b (Oct 3, 2007)

Sorry about your eggs 
what size vermiculite are u using ? Reason I ask is with chuckwalla eggs if u use fine vermic the eggs soak up too much moisture no air gets to them and they mould ( they are very tempermental eggs are chuckys )
anyway was told on an American website that for eggs that need air and small amounts of moisture only to use course vermiculits as there's plenty of air gaps in this even when wet as it dosnt clump together the same which means not all the vermiculite will be stuck to the egg to over wet it either.
It's how I'll be doing all my eggs from now on anyway I had a large incubator with 3 diff tubs of substrate and this had the best hatch rate


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## LoveGeckos.com (Dec 7, 2008)

I switched over to HatchRite last year, and had excellent results. I got it shipped in from the states. You can now purchase it over here, it's be re-branded as HatchRite by Lucky Reptile. 

There is no need to add water, it's already in, just add it to your container and go. Obviously do a dry run first, to make sure you have enough medium, but not too much. You will be able to determine this by the amount of condensation that appears in the container.

As mentioned above by a previous poster, you could also try the SIM Incubation Container, it's a great idea, and seems to work well. There has been great success in America with the SIM.


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Well again, thanks for all the comments, it's really helped.

I now have six eggs cooking, 2 are huge and about ready to hatch soon, and two freshly laid last night.

The vermiculite squeezed well is working fine, although because I am using cricket tubs, I have had to pour a small amount of water into the bottom as the eggs were crumpling a little, 2 days later they have plumped out even bigger 

So I have finally found what works for me and I am so over the moon!!!!

Thanks so much!!

Jac


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