Incubation Medium Moisture... Out of the Bag

[2.1SRR.YYC]

In investigating my current moulding problem I discovered that not all incubation medium is created the same. What I mean is that where you live and when or where your vermiculite (or perlite) was bagged will determine the amount of moisture in the medium.

I opened a new bag of perlite yesterday and was amazed at the amount of moisture in the medium. I swear I could have used it with just a light misting.

If using a weight ratio formula for adding water I'm sure this particular bag will create a mixture that is too moist. Oddly enough my first batch of eggs that failed were in what I though was very dry vermiculite.

I'm almost ready to abandon the weight ratio method and try the squeeze method...

Anyone else experience this?
Maybe a switch to hatch-rite?
Does anyone dry their medium first and then add water?

 

[TokayKeeper]

squeeze method...

 

[paulnj]

squeeze method is a common and proven method of getting incubation medium that's correctly saturated. Steve is correct that a bag of perlite isn't always 0% moisture. Depending on where you are located, some places are 10% humidity, while other places are high humidity, then add the rain factor.

the squeeze method works best with straight vermiculite or a 2 part Verm to 1 part perlite mix. You wet the medium and squeeze it as hard as you can in a clenched fist. The correct mixture will clump into a ball, while having no water excape while squeezing it. That ball should stay formed until you tap it, at which time it'll break apart.

If water excapes while squeezing add more medium and remix until you have it right.If a ball doesn't form add water until it does.

 

[TokayKeeper]

I spent about 4 hours on the phone last night with a fellow New Mexican and well-known chondro keeper (some guy that produced an albino in 2002 and more in 07, pfft). The conversation was incubation based and we got to talking about snake eggs vs other eggs. I, personally, can seem to hatch lizards out until I'm blue in the face, but when it comes to snakes I just don't have much luck. This individual mentioned coarse, long-grain sphagnum moss for snake eggs, but I'm wondering if the same would work for lizards.

Basically, this person has a friend who takes 1 gallon jars and fills them 2/3 way with the coarse, long-grain sphagum (it's the yellowish white stuff you get in nurseries/garden centers). This sphagnum is commonly used in dart frog tanks and is suppose to be naturally mold resistant. Anyhow, his friend takes the sphagnum and soaks it in the sink. He then squeezes all water out. The squeezing process was described to me as so hard your hands start turning white. After being squeezed he then fluffs back up the moss. Back to 2/3s filling...He then takes his colubrid eggs and places them in the middle of the clump of moss, then loosely covers the eggs to fill the jar rest of the way with sphagnum, takes cheese clothe/super fine mesh/something similar and covers the jar opening (idea is to keep flies out, particularly fruit flies and other smaller fly species) and then puts the lid on the jar. He then places it on a shelf (I assume the shelf is located in a warm room, if not a fully dedicated herp room; and thus stable, warm temps) and he has hatchling snakes in 75 days. Apparently this guy's success rate is awesome. I may give this a try should any of my colubrids go this year. Unfortuantely, the only snakes I have cooled are my mexican hognose.

 

[DAWNoftheLEO]

I use Schultz perlite, How would one check moisture in bag lol, put a probe in it??

Schultz seems to be made in St Louis and I went through a fewbags last year consistently with no probs using albeys method...

If it were made here in Las Vegas it would be 0% for sure....

Sphagnum all the way for my layboxes though..

As for vermiculite it holds way too much moisture in my opinion, I've never used it for Gecko purposes, just mycology..

 

[Nigel4less]

I do the squeeze method as well with Vermiculite, it seems to work very well. But then again I`ve never used perlite, so I cant give you an opinion on that one.

 

[2.1SRR.YYC]

Thanks for the comments. I've switched over to Perlite and things are looking OK so far. I think I'm dealing with some inexperienced males and they're not doing their job properly. I've re-breed the females and things are looking better.