Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[arborgoanna]

I'm not familiar with the geology of the UK, or more specifically the particular area that you live in, but have you ever thought about trying out the dirt from your backyard/neighborhood?

When I kept ackies, I found the native soil to my area here in New York, which can be considered 'sandy loam', worked great for burrowing, and offered a good amount of gas exchange(unlike clays). I never got eggs from my ackies(I think I might have had 3 females!), but they sure dug tunnels and burrows all throughout the substrate I dug up from my backyard. My kimberlies and tristis didn't care much for this backyard soil-as they preferred a sandier composition.

As for the glauerti eggs, back then, I feel my problem was more along the lines of too much moisture/water absorbtion, which the developing eggs were unable to shed towards the end/near hatching. This is also one of the ideas I'm throwing around and manipulating with my V. macraei clutches. Moisture, and the other possible problem may be CO2 buildup/concentrations towards the end of incubation. Hopefully I will figure things out sooner or later!

Best of luck to you with the ackies, I wish you great success with them. Same goes to you Scott, while I have only experienced dead hatchlings, baby V. glauerti are stunning animals, and I can't even imagine the feeling of hatching some out.

[Nelson]

[quote=Cornuta]try a local garden center, I use one near me that sells an Irish moss peat called 'ERIN'

Most of the B&Qs etc dont sell it now because it is environmentally unfriendly. I tracked it down for my carnivorous plants. [/quote]

[quote=arborgoanna]I'm not familiar with the geology of the UK, or more specifically the particular area that you live in, but have you ever thought about trying out the dirt from your backyard/neighborhood?[/quote]

None of my local garden centers sell any, and unfortunatly I live in a city center so local soils out. But I live quite closely to a costal woodland (sandy) so I might try that.

[serpent]

Have you tried a mixure of eco-earth and playsand 1.1 ratio or topsoil from B&Q (£2.00 a bag )
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[Madfrontosa]

I have used the reptisand for my beardies and put boiled water on it mixed it by hand when it cooled down a bit and patted it down by hand - due to the fineness of the sand it is so compact it has not collapsed.

On the subject of egg box for ackies - will I be ok with an opaque plastic tub covered with some plywood - and if so what size is used as a rule of thumb?

John