Home > categories > Minerals & Metallurgy > Vermiculite > what are the ingredients of potting soil?
Question:

what are the ingredients of potting soil?

i want to know whats written on the backside of the potting soil bag the ingredients??

Answer:

That's funny; I went through the same exact thing last year with my corn snakes. Get a tupperware container ready with paper towels lining the bottom as well as shredded towel to cushion the eggs. Move them gently into the box after she is finished laying. Cover the tupperware and make sure there is proper ventilation. Store it in a dry and warm area until you can get further advice from an expert. I now have several awesome little baby corn snakes that I successfully hatched last year after a surprise egg-laying. Happy incubating, and best of luck!
If she hasn't been with a male for a while the eggs are not going to have anything inside the eggs....hope this helps.
The fact they are not laid together is not a good sign. The females will usually find a spot to lay and do so, but it's possible that with having another snake in there and no laying box, she continuously moved around to try to find a safe place to lay. Co habitating is also not good. Separate the two snakes so that the male won't continously breed the female. This can lead to early death of the female as it takes a great deal out of her to produce the eggs. Double and triple clutching can be the death of her since she might be too small already. You should NEVER keep more than one snake in a cage...no matter what anyone tells you and this is just one reason why! That said, there's nothing you can do about it now...eggs are here. A tupperware tub is fine to incubate in. Put 3-4 pinholes in the lid to allow airflow (they don't need much). I use perlite rather than vermiculite to incubate in as it reduces the chance of drowning the eggs if the medium is too wet. Use lukewarm water and add an amount that lets the perlite clump when squeezed, but not enough for a lot of moisture. Place the eggs into the perlite. You can cover them completely or just leave a little of the tops of them out. You can cover the tops with a little damp moss if you want. As long as you don't turn the eggs they are fine to move. They will definitely dry out and die if you don't. Put the egg container in a place that stays around 80 degrees or so. At 80 degrees it will take approximately 69 days for the eggs to hatch. Higher temps will shorten the time, but your risk killing the eggs with higher temps. They tolerate lower temperatures better than high. If necessary you can add water to the egg box if it starts to dry out. You should see a mist on the side of the egg box at the perlite level. Use tepid water and pour close to the edge of the egg box so that the eggs do not get touched directly.
Perlite and Vermiculite can both be purchased from most garden stores. If you can't find it you can use sphagnum moss (or the best you can find at a pet store) instead until you can order some. For tonight I'd recommend removing the eggs and placing them in a plastic tupperware container filled with moist paper towels (try not to put the eggs directly on wet towels though) and see if you can keep them somewhere around 78-83 fahrenheit. Humidity needs to be at least 70% so if you can get it to where it condenses on the lid of the container you are good. You can poke tiny holes in the container for air (eggs breathe) or just leave this for later. The reason I'd remove them as soon as possible is because the snake didn't lay them in a lay box filled with moist moss. Usually you wait a couple hours for the eggs to harden but also usually the snake lays in a prearranged lay box that already has high humidity so you don't have to worry about that as much. If you are really worried about it you can have an incubator shipped overnight. I know LLLReptile overnights hovabators for reptiles. Also they have a deal that includes hatchrite (a commercially available incubation substrate that is premoistened and works well) and deli cups as well in a package deal. (I know because I just ordered one since I have a racer that laid eggs.)

Share to: