Where Do you get Your Vermiculite at

I been looking around and wanted to know where everyone gets their Vermiculite from locally. i want something cheaper than Hatchrite this season.

If there are Southern States stores in your area you can get it there in large quantities. If you need smaller quantities, try a local garden store. In my area Home Depot and Lowe's do not carry it, but I have had luck as smaller gardening shops.

This will be my first year trying Vermiculite so i need to know what i am looking for and not buy something that will kill my eggs.

I order mine. www.uline.com

I dont need that much at all as i have no room to store them bags. im looking for something local so i dont have to be dependant for online orders in case of emergencies.

U-Line's prices seem pretty fair, too. Most small garden shops will charge you $6-8 for a small bag. A 4 cu. ft bag from Southern States or U-Line is more economical if you are incubating several clutches.

The number one mistake people make with incubation media is to get it too wet. I mix 3 parts coarse-grade vermiculite with 1 part perlite (optional). I weight it and then add 50-70% water (by weight). I vary the amount of water by how dry the vermiculite and perlite are to begin with. This isn't something I can easily describe so you should err on the side of using less water. You can always add a little bit of water later if necessary. As an example, I will measure out 750 grams of vermiculite and 250 grams of perlite and then add 500-600 grams of water.

Also, don't put a lot of holes in your incubation box. I have one hole in my boxes. In the past I used two. Too many holes allows too much air flow and the eggs can get too dry.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

I dont need that much at all as i have no room to store them bags. im looking for something local so i dont have to be dependant for online orders in case of emergencies.

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If there are not Southern States in your area look in the phone book for a farmer's co-op and contact them. There should be something around. If that fails, call a garden shop and ask them for suggestions. It's likely they can refer you to someone local.

I can't find it anywhere locally, even at the mom and pop shops. I ordered some this year from online. But I ended up with way too much, if you want, I can send you some - I'll send you a PM.

i dont use holes at all in my tubs. Ill be using the Vermiculite with a light diffuser on top to keep the eggs away from the moisture directly. And u-line and southern states are out of question. Im only going to have 2 clutches this breeding season coming. so 4cu ft bag is not economical for me just yet.

lowes website sells a bag of it and wondered if its okay to use.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-1321-50801727

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

lowes website sells a bag of it and wondered if its okay to use.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-1321-50801727

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I can't give a reason why that mulch from Lowe's would be bad.

This year we had to search for Vermiculite, as the Home Depot and Lowe's local to us didn't have it. When I went home for the weekend (I am a College student) I found a small bag of it at the Lowe's at home. So some Lowe's do carry it in store, just not all of them.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

lowes website sells a bag of it and wondered if its okay to use.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-1321-50801727

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As far as I know, they don't put "stuff" in it like they do sometimes with perlite. So it should be OK.

That's the size I got, and let me tell you, its a lot!!! I've done 10 cornsnake egg tubs and have three ball python tubs set up, have sent several boxes out to other people, and have barely made a dent in it.

i Guess ill go in and look at it and read to see if theres any additives. if not then ill buy it which will be more than i need for sure. Lowes by me carries about 90% of the stuff on their website.

OKay My lowes here carries that bag in stock all year long. The person said it is non toxic but never heard of it used for eggs.