can i use vermiculite as a substrate for my leopard gecko? if not, what else could i use instead?
Most of my gardening was hydroponics and the cotton basically was useless because it didn't hold its shape at all. It also could foul pumps. Vermiculite didn't breath well enough unless mixed with Perlite and the verm could also foul the water pump. You still might be able to mix cotton with one of the others. It could be that I didn't squish the cotton balls or something like that but I do remember it didn't work well at all. It just flattened out and almost all the water drained out. The small ball of cotton that was left would be saturated. It wouldn't support a plant or keep its shape and was too easily saturated. Moss containers worked very well but I preferred the rockwool. You could plant the seed or cutting right into it. It does holds its water too well though. You have to be careful not to add too much water or there is no aeration. With moss it didn't have that problem and it was easy to see by looking at it if it were moist. It was just kind of unsightly and not quite as suitable in hydroponics. Cotton never worked for me because it wouldn't hold its shape. It wouldn't hold water as well as any of them though I am making an assumption about the coco fiber. The planting plugs I have seen looked pretty much ideal. I was just happy with the rockwool. I think I might prefer the coco fiber if I was planing on putting it in soil. I definately prefer moss containers when using soil. Cotton is a pure cellulose fiber so it isn't going to hold the water as well as the more complicated fibers or it will contract to the point where there is no aeration. That was my limited experience at least.
