Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,
I was wondering what type of substrate you gurus use for your laybox? I use sphagnum peat moss (home depot brand/fertilizer free) and a good amount tends to get stuck on the eggs. Thanks in advance for the replies!
-Johnny

Johnny, I use the sphagnum moss also, but my hognose collection
is rather small, so I don't even use a nesting box. My females will attempt to dig a nest when they are getting ready to lay, so I just move them to a container with the moss. It calms them down and they usually lay the next day. I just brush the excess moss off the eggs, but I doubt that it matters.

You make a good point when you say you use pure sphagnum moss, as a friend of mine bought some at a garden nursery and it was treated with some kind of chemical. It killed a few of his geckos before he figured it out.

I was in the garden section of one of the big stores and grabbed a bag of vermiculite, but read the label, and was surprised that it had some Miracle Grow additive. I don't want any additives, just the pure product.

Wendell

I have used pure sphagnum moss in my lay boxes for well over a decade and have never had an issue. It all comes off the eggs easily and have never noticed a connection between any good eggs going bad due to the moss.

Cool guys, thank you for the replies. I've never had a problem with the sphagnum peat moss besides it sticking to the eggs. I also use it in for my crested geckos and the eggs tend to hatch out fine even with a little bit of substrate stuck to them.
Wendell: That sucks, I also heard stories about that happening. Always gotta look for that pure stuff!
-Johnny