Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey room,
Just wanted to see what people use as far as incubation substrate. Does anyone use the no substrate method?well if you feel like posting what you feel works best !

I use a modified version of the no sub method now. In the past I have used vermiculite, but I much prefer the no-sub method. As you may be able to see in the picture, I put down a layer of very wet perlite (sopping wet, not damp). On top of the wet perlite, I have a plastic grate. The eggs sit directly on top of the plastic grate. I use a tight fitting lid on my egg box. For this clutch, I filled the corners of the egg box with damp sphagnum. As a general rule, that step is not necessary. The only reason I did so here was due to the size of the clutch. The clutch was so big that my regular egg box lid would not fit right and I had to jerry-rig it. Adding the sphagnum helped keep the ambient humidity high. My other clutches have gone directly on the grate with no sphgnum and hatched perfectly. The problem I had in the past with the vermiculite is that it became to dry before the incubation period was over. I was always worrying about adding water, and had made some mistakes from time to time. Since going no sub, I have only lost one egg (the one in the upper right of the picture).

dumb question but where do you get the plastic grates from...if i try that method i would be using a hovabator it came with a metal grate..is that too hard a material (will it cut the egg). so with no sub you don't have to worry about humidity? I assume you just put enough water to almost reach the top of the grate but low enough so it doesn't touch the eggs?

Well, you can by the plastic grate from any home improvement store. Its used in florescent lighting. I actually found mine at walmart. It was a part of some kitchen thing and I just cut it out. The lighting grate is better though, so thats what I would get if I were you. You will not need to worry about humidity. Make sure you put the eggs in an egg box (the cheap disposable tupperware type stuff from the grocery store works great).