I've read that vermiculite has the potential to be carcinogenic. It's also been linked with asbestos. DO I need to worry or is it safe for edibles cultivation?
nicely first you'll be able to desire to place it in no longer moist yet somewhat moist soil yet you'll be able to desire to get the soil or substrate from a puppy shop because of the fact its significant that its no longer in some thing that has fertilizer in it and a great type of different issues yet its a incubator so which you'll be able to desire to get a warmth source and as quickly as you may get a actual incubator considering the undeniable fact that's mandatory and so a techniques that is going to likely be good and desire you success
instead of heat mat or heat tape you can easly use a aquariuam heater and two bricks to put the tupper ware on. fill it with water to about half an inch from the surface of the bricks and there u go! email me if you need more info
I would be worried more about melting the styrofoam than the plastic. You might try to put some thicker plastic on the cooler bottom then some aluminum or a metal cooking tray on it then the heat pad. I wound use something either glass, metal, or ceramic to lift the tupperware up off the pad a little bit too. I don't think it would melt but it might. I think vermiculite or perilite work equally well although most breeders I know use vermiculite for the egg laying chamber and perilite for incubating the eggs. Make sure the perilite doesn't contain any fertilizers or other chemicals... only plain perilite. You can get this at a greenhouse or gardening supply shop, just reed the labels. You also need to keep the incubator humidity correct by adding some water to the perilite. The ratio depends on the container size. I wouldn't use a lid on the tupperware because it will keep the eggs too wet and they will likely mold. I haven't asked yet, but do you already have the heat pad, cooler, etc? It might be cheaper/easier/better to buy a chicken egg incubator instead. Hob-a-vators are pretty cheap at farm supply stores and actually work quite well if you keep them in a room that maintains a stable air temp. I built my own incubator before and liked the chicken egg one much better, that's why I suggested it. Anyway, either route you go, remeber that the temp you incubate at will determin the sex of the babies, I believe 85 degrees gives you equal males to females but double check that. Also, try not to turn the eggs once laid and placed in the incubator, some people mark the top with a felt tip pen. If you get stuck, there are a lot of good websites about breeding/hatching leopard geckos. Good luck.
