Brian Miller
New member
I was wondering what is the best ratio of water to vermiculite, and is there a way to tell if it is too wet or too dry?
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Substrate for eggs
- Thread starter Brian Miller
- Start date
You know, I always see the proportion of water/vermiculite listed in the books based on weight, and can't figure out why. How many people want to have to weigh a batch of vermiculite, then figure out the weight of water they need to add to it? Sounds kind of silly to me.
It's MUCH easier to use a volumetric proportion. What I have found works well for me is to use one part water to 5 or 6 parts of vermiculite. Now, isn't that simple to figure out? Take 5 or 6 cups of vermiculite, dump them in a container, then add one cup of water. Nothing to it. Not enough? Well then use 10 to 12 cups of vermiculite and TWO cups of water to double the amount you are using.
Mix it thoroughly, set the eggs in it and set it up how ever you feel most comfortable. Personally I favor covering the eggs completely with the vermiculite and then placing a dampened paper towel over top the mixture. I use plastic shoeboxes with 1/8th inch holes drilled in the top for some air flow. Some people prefer to use sealed containers, but that worries me. There is no possibility that a female snake is going to be able to find an airtight container in the wild in order to lay her eggs in them. My rule of thumb is to duplicate mother nature as much as possible.
Every clutch of eggs I have found in the wild was in a situation where it would be protected from the elements somewhat, and would be soaked periodically by rains, yet would drain well afterwards. Most were also under something, such as cardboard, bark, matted grass and debris, or carpet as well as being burried, but NEVER under anything that was not porous to water.
Check the eggs about every 3 weeks or so, depending on a number of factors:
(1) How dry is it in the room? A dryer climate needs to have the moisture content of the vermiculate checked more often.
(2) What temps are you incubating the eggs at? Higher temps generally mean faster dehydration. (Also, one other point here about temps: I have found that slower incubation, i.e. lower temps, is better than faster incubation. Give the snakes enough time to be able to absorb ALL of the egg yolk before hatching. Mine typically hatch in 68 to 70 days at temps around 81 to 82 degrees.)
(3) How much airflow is the incubating box exposed to? More airflow means quicker dehydration.
I have found that when I fill a rack (7 ft. tall x 4 ft. wide) with egg incubating boxes, the boxes on the top will dry out quickest, with the boxes on the ends of the rows, at the outside edges not far behind. Inside the boxes themselves, the vermiculite in the front of the box will dry out quicker than the back section. The bigger the box, and more vermiculite you use for each clutch, the less you will have to worry about dehydration and temperature fluctuations.
Once you get this all figured out, you will have a better feel next year for what conditions you have to allow for. It is better for the eggs to be slightly too dry than for them to be way too wet, so if you are going to make errors with moisture content, do it towards the dry side. You can always rehydrate an egg if you don't let it go too far, but a drowned egg is dead for good.
Man! I'll do about ANYTHING to keep from working on my taxes tonight!
It's MUCH easier to use a volumetric proportion. What I have found works well for me is to use one part water to 5 or 6 parts of vermiculite. Now, isn't that simple to figure out? Take 5 or 6 cups of vermiculite, dump them in a container, then add one cup of water. Nothing to it. Not enough? Well then use 10 to 12 cups of vermiculite and TWO cups of water to double the amount you are using.
Mix it thoroughly, set the eggs in it and set it up how ever you feel most comfortable. Personally I favor covering the eggs completely with the vermiculite and then placing a dampened paper towel over top the mixture. I use plastic shoeboxes with 1/8th inch holes drilled in the top for some air flow. Some people prefer to use sealed containers, but that worries me. There is no possibility that a female snake is going to be able to find an airtight container in the wild in order to lay her eggs in them. My rule of thumb is to duplicate mother nature as much as possible.
Every clutch of eggs I have found in the wild was in a situation where it would be protected from the elements somewhat, and would be soaked periodically by rains, yet would drain well afterwards. Most were also under something, such as cardboard, bark, matted grass and debris, or carpet as well as being burried, but NEVER under anything that was not porous to water.
Check the eggs about every 3 weeks or so, depending on a number of factors:
(1) How dry is it in the room? A dryer climate needs to have the moisture content of the vermiculate checked more often.
(2) What temps are you incubating the eggs at? Higher temps generally mean faster dehydration. (Also, one other point here about temps: I have found that slower incubation, i.e. lower temps, is better than faster incubation. Give the snakes enough time to be able to absorb ALL of the egg yolk before hatching. Mine typically hatch in 68 to 70 days at temps around 81 to 82 degrees.)
(3) How much airflow is the incubating box exposed to? More airflow means quicker dehydration.
I have found that when I fill a rack (7 ft. tall x 4 ft. wide) with egg incubating boxes, the boxes on the top will dry out quickest, with the boxes on the ends of the rows, at the outside edges not far behind. Inside the boxes themselves, the vermiculite in the front of the box will dry out quicker than the back section. The bigger the box, and more vermiculite you use for each clutch, the less you will have to worry about dehydration and temperature fluctuations.
Once you get this all figured out, you will have a better feel next year for what conditions you have to allow for. It is better for the eggs to be slightly too dry than for them to be way too wet, so if you are going to make errors with moisture content, do it towards the dry side. You can always rehydrate an egg if you don't let it go too far, but a drowned egg is dead for good.
Man! I'll do about ANYTHING to keep from working on my taxes tonight!
