Reptile & Amphibian Forums

its Hoffmans Vermiculite
i have a picture of it posted here
http://www.herpcenter.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=162

i wanted to know if the size is ok it looks smaller than the stuff i've seen in pictures

Well...I'm by no means an expert and don't use a dirt mix myself, but I AM a gardener and can tell you that vermiculite is used to "open up" the texture of regular soil and make it more crumbly and "fluffy", so it's easier for plant roots to penetrate...It's also used to retain moisture; if you look at a piece of vermiculite very closely you'll see that it's made up of dozens of tiny "pages", almost like a little book...the idea is that water is retained between each "page" and is slowly released into the soil as needed...Because it's so good at retaining moisture, people do use it often to incubate eggs because it's sterile, and will keep a fairly constant level of humidity and moisture going in the incubator...BUT..

Since I don't think you want a fluffy, crumbly moist soil mix for your desert lizards, I would think "no" on the vermiculite in the substrate...I think your'e looking for something that's fairly compacted, will retain a burrow and will dry out quickly on the surface while staying just slightly damp near the bottom...Things vermiculite will not help you do...Just my opinion...

SR

yes, no, maybe, absolutely not, and no problem

for soil, i typically use the coarser stuff, but we have used both coarse and fine, plenty of times each. it just depends on what it available when i go to the store.

it shouldn't give you any grief either way. as far as impaction, as someone had mentioned, Uros, monitors, and other sun loving lizards are not frogs, so while i could see it causing problems in a cool, sensitive species like a frog, i have NEVER had glitch one with lizards and vermiculite
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

np

not sure of your tone, but sure, that is what forums do. it just doesn't make it any easier for someone trying to decipher it all and apply accordingly
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

im going to mix some up and start playing with it.
hopefully i'll be able to figure out why my female saharan keeps eating her substare so she can have some too