Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I am not sure if anyone has had this experience but it is just a cautionary tale.

My ball python laid my first eggs for me on 28 Feb. I was so excited!! I had a bag of hatchrite that was never opened so I put the eggs in the medium and in the incubator.

Luckily my friend Jason came over to check them out becuase they were way too dry and had zilch moisture and were all sunken in so hatch rite didn't work for me.

Just please keep it in mind when using it to make sure your eggs stay hydrated.

V/R Paige Culler

-----
1.1 cinnamons, 1.1 pastels, .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1.1 super pastel, .3 normals, 1. lesser, .1 black pastel, .1 pinstripe .1 rosy boa, 1.1 gophers, 2.1 kids, 1. hubby and a bunch of other animals

I had the same experience last year with a bunch of Leopard gecko eggs. I opened a fresh bag(my first experience with it), set up several clutches of eggs and they began to shrivel in a very short time. I pitched the bag and went back to my old stand by of coconut choir mixed with vermiculite.
I don't know why I keep experimenting with different mediums, it always ends badly!
Mixing the coconut choir in with the vermiculite gives a visual refence regading moisture because it changes color as it dries out.

John

Never had a problem with it myself....hatched plenty of eggs with it. I buy it in bulk...20 lb bags and I have used the 2 lb bags as well.
Travis
-----

LAIR OF DRAGONS

I've hatched a few different reptiles on hatch rite! this includes Rio Fuerte Beadeds and the hatch time on them is forever! I also buy the 20lb breeder bags. I currently have balls on it and the humidity is perfect. Never had a problem and will continue to use it. Sounds like something wasn't right.
-----
John Light

I use HATCHRITE and LOVE IT!!!!!

I have used it quite a bit and hatched everything in 2010 on it including Ball Pythons, Retics, various python species and even Albino Water Monitors.

The trick is to set your clutch up with a heavy amount of hatchrite and not too much ventilation....then weigh it!!! Every few weeks go back to it and replace any water that may have escaped via ventilation holes. I generally only add water once or twice(pythons) before they hatch.

With this in mind you should have no issues and do just as well as I do!

It really does work well and I love how clean it is!

Kevin
-----
"Satan™" is a registered trademark of NERD, Inc. Any copyright infringement is punishable by ETERNAL DAMNATION and some other terrible stuff.

It sucked the eggs dry. I went back to verm in the middle of incubating that clutch. There were no holes in the tub either so the humidity could not have escaped. Never had the eggs dent and dry like I did with hatchrite.

Isn't it just perilite in a fancy bag? If not, What is so special about it?
-----
If you plan for 1 year, plant rice.
If you plan for 10 years, plant trees.
If you plan for 100 years, educate mankind.

no, it not just perlite. why post something when you dont have a clue what you are talking about??
-----
Evan Stahl Reptiles
www.evanstahl.com

They were asking a question? That's probably why they asked. I think this is called a forum, that's what people do.

It has water polymers in it to keep the right moisture levels!

bingo.
-----
Evan Stahl Reptiles
www.evanstahl.com

then you did not have enough moisture in the hatchrite to begin with. bags get punctured in shipping/transit and the water evaporates out of the mixture. I have hatched over 400 ball python eggs on hatchrite and love it. I have also used it for leopard gecko, day gecko, ameiva and colubrid eggs. In my experience the hatch rate has been almost perfect, like 98-99%. great stuff and like Kevin said, awesome how clean and neat the stuff is compared to any other medium.
-----
Evan Stahl Reptiles
www.evanstahl.com

HatchRite sure costs a whole lot more than the vermiculite & perlite mixture I make! I buy BIG bags of both at the nursery. Of course, I do have to perform the work of mixing it up with
the proper amount of water and I consider that part of my work as a breeder. But I have NEVER had to add more water during the entire 56-58 day incubation period. Why fix it if it ain't broke??

Susan Sentman
SSNAKES Reptile

Perlite vermiculite mix for me.

does is dry out the eggs. Use vermiculite.

and that is fine, for you. why do you have a problem with others using something else? and by the way, vermiculite is a carcinogen that is a proven cause of lung cancer. And dont you love when you pour it out of the bag how dusty it is? Keep using that awesome stuff!
-----
Evan Stahl Reptiles
www.evanstahl.com

Come on Evan, we both know your friends sell the stuff.

It's just moisturized Perlite.

but believe me if the stuff stunk or was problematic I would be all over it and would not use it. I buy HatchRite because it works well and that is that! Evan pointed out that maybe the stuff had already been dried out due to a pinhole in the bag or something like that. I think it is critical to start out with the right moisture content before putting eggs on it.
Secondly, "the truth" is that it is not just Pearlite which I don't use. They add something to the stuff to help it retain moisture to make it work better.

It has worked well for me as well as Evan.

Kevin

>>Come on Evan, we both know your friends sell the stuff.
>>
>>It's just moisturized Perlite.
-----
"Satan™" is a registered trademark of NERD, Inc. Any copyright infringement is punishable by ETERNAL DAMNATION and some other terrible stuff.

Its not the hatchrite, its your container your using, either its losing moisture via manufacturing gaps, or you put too many ventilation holes in the container....we use one or two TINY pin hole ventilation holes and hatch close to 100% with hatchrite, and NEVER add water. Most reason for loss of moisture is too much ventilation, and sometimes even the incubator(hovabators, etc) have tons of holes on he top(we used to cover with tape when we used those)

I was using one of the incubator/mini fridge contraptions from LllReptiles. I used a tuperware container without any holes in it. I knew it felt super dry but hadn't used it before so thought it was normal.

I bought vermiculite and am going to that on my next clutch whenever that happens. : ). Glad my experience seems to be different from most. I have a bag of hatchrite if anyone wants it...
-----
1.1 cinnamons, 1.1 pastels, .1 mojave, 1. spider, 1.1 super pastel, .3 normals, 1. lesser, .1 black pastel, .1 pinstripe .1 rosy boa, 1.1 gophers, 2.1 kids, 1. hubby and a bunch of other animals

I agree 100%. Ive used Hatch rite for the past 3 years and like that its not dusty like vermiculite. And have had no issues
Kevin Stoltz

I used Hatchrite with excellent results. 100% hatch on fertile eggs.
When you first open the bag, weigh a red plastic beer cup full of it on a gm scale, add distilled water in the future to maintain that level of moisture.

All of these bad experiences! I've hatched Rio Fuerte Beadeds, Indian Cobras, Veiled and Panther Chameleons, among others on this stuff. I did have to add a very minor (2-3 tsps) of water to long incubation periods but the bag states you may have to do so. I think I'll order another bag 20lb bag!
-----
John Light

Just for the record...

I put two paper towels folded to fit the bottom of the incubation tupper ware box I am using...wet the paper towels down till a little damp...add hatch rite and NEVER have had to add water...1/8" hole drilled into the side on one end...100% hatch rate on fertile candled eggs and I open the tupper ware box once every ten days or more just to exchange air.
I have used Vermic and Peralite and aways had to add water or dry medium through out the incubation period no matter how perfect I thought the mixture was and never had the hatch rate I like.

I like the KISS theory..."keep it simple stupid" when it come to hatching eggs. My snakesnow and my dragons when I was breeding them work so hard to give me what I want...EGGS... and I want to do the best I can to see the results of their hard work.

Just my opinion and I could be wrong.....
Travis
-----

LAIR OF DRAGONS

I've used it for three years and never had any issues...works great for me!