Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious, after you set up your egg boxes with the verm / perlite and get them good to go. How often do you need to resoak the vermiculate / perlite? Because I wouldnt think it would hold moisture for 50 days. Whats the perfect humidity level for the eggs.

I just check the moisture level every couple of weeks by inserting my finger into the substrate. If I feel the moisture is low, I will add water to the area around the eggs. Try not to splash any water on the eggs. I also cover my egg boxes with press and seal under the lid. It helps keep the moisture in. You can weigh the box after the eggs are in and it is all setup. Then weigh it agian a few weeks into incubation to see how much moisture has gone...adding water to get it back up to it previous weight. Hope this helps.
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Dino White

www.whitediamondreptiles.com
dino@whitediamondreptiles.com

Save yourself the trouble and use the "No Substrate" method. This won't require you to make any drastic changes, but will take the guess work out of getting the water to substrate ratios right.

Head on down to your local hardware store and look for a sheet of egg crate in the Lighting section. It should cost roughly $10. Cut the egg crate to size so that it will fit inside of your egg tub and set it on top of your moistened substrate.

That's it. When the eggs come you can place them directly on top of the egg crate and won't have to worry about them becoming over saturated from any excess moisture you may have in the substrate. The water will evaporate and the eggs will get all of the humidity they require from the air. Every week or so you can add a couple tablespoons of water to the substrate and even if you add too much the eggs will not be adversely affected.

If you can't find egg crate the grate off of an old floor fan will work just fine. Anything that has holes and some depth (to keep the eggs elevated) will work just fine. Try to avoid any type of metal grate though because it may rust.

Why is this called the no substrate method? You are still using substrate...just raising the eggs above it. This should be called the "No Contact Method". The name "no substrate" is misleading. I use the same method and still have some evaporation during incubation. I've had to add water at times to the egg box to remoisten. I just started using press and seal between the lid and the box and it has reduced the evaporation greatly. I have my first clutch with the press and seal hatching in a week and have not added any water.
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Dino White

www.whitediamondreptiles.com
dino@whitediamondreptiles.com

Once my mixture and setup is "dialed-in", it remains good until hatching. This may take some experimenting on your part.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles