Incubation substrate, what do you use and why?

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

I have also incubated a clutch with a potting soil/peat moss substrate.

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I would not do this again though...the eggs all made it full term and the babies hatched out healthy, but the eggs were in really rough shape towards the end. I'm sure it was because the substrate was too damp, though it felt lighter/dryer than dampened vermiculite.

Just water and an underwater fish tank heater hocked to helix!

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/o...-671S-med1.jpg

I use vermiculite and have for years. I think that is best because a simple touch is all that is needed to see if it is getting dry. I can set up a tub and have it ready in under 5 minutes and have it in the incubator. I have used various other methods and they have worked extremely well but not nearly as well as vermiculite has for me. The best advice I can give is look at your local weather and judge off of that... In colder climates I have noticed that vermiculite works better but in warmer climates it dries out to fast. Some things work better than others it all really depends on what you are comfortable with.

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Originally Posted by Zombie

I have heard of stories where hatchlings have caught their umbilicus on the light grid and tore it, then subsequently bled to death. Has that ever happened to anyone here?

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I was wondering this as well... anyone?

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Originally Posted by RideRed12

I was wondering this as well... anyone?

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I move my eggs off of the egg crate and into an incubation container lined with moist paper towels once they pip (or if they were manually cut, before they start trying to explore.) Even if the chance is small that they'll injure themselves on the egg crate, I'd rather be safe than sorry! I know that stuff seems pretty harsh, especially on a freshly hatched exposed belly.

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Originally Posted by abi21491

I move my eggs off of the egg crate and into an incubation container lined with moist paper towels once they pip (or if they were manually cut, before they start trying to explore.) Even if the chance is small that they'll injure themselves on the egg crate, I'd rather be safe than sorry! I know that stuff seems pretty harsh, especially on a freshly hatched exposed belly.

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That's an awesome idea! Thanks!


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I am using substrateless with only water.

I use Perlite with the light diffuser on top. I use it because it can be reused from year to year, after it is cleaned and dried out. It does a good job of holding water and does an effective job of keeping things from sloshing when moving an egg box.

Like another poster above, once my eggs start to pip, I move the eggs to a separate container with on a wet paper towel. I will also put a small ceramic bowl of water in the tub, that gets changed frequently.

This method works for me, but there are many ways of doing it. Find the method that you feel most comfortable with and use it. None of them are perfect and almost all of them work.

Ok so I recently responded to this with an answer that I use Hatchrite. Well I have for the past 2 years, but mostly because I only had 1, then 2 clutches to incubate. I always had 100% hatch rate with it though. No problems with it, ever. However, this year I am expecting 9 clutches, and with Hatchrite at $19.99 a bag here in Vegas, I will be going with a Vermiculite and Pearlite mix this year as it will be much more cost effective. It's just a 50/50 mix, right?

I know this is an old post but it isn't a bad time of year to refresh everyone's memory by reading through it again. As to the 50/50 question, it is 50/50 in terms of mass. So if you have 25g of perlite then z out the scale and add water until you hit 25g again!