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Question:

What can I substitute vermiculite with for a lay box?

My Bearded Dragon is about to lay eggs ( I assume as she is digging; they are unfertilized eggs and this would probably be her second time around ) and I don't have access to vermiculite, unless I buy it online which could last up to a week. Are there any substitutes I could use?Regular potting soil for example, or playground sand? (just some random examples that came off the top of my head, anything else would be VERY HIGHLY APPRECIATED) Thanks!

Answer:

You only need to add more soil and sometime you can use some sand to hold moisture with light mixture of peat moss, cow manure, vermiculite. The vermiculite is only for starting seedlings. Imagine how light this mixture is when it comes a hard rain. It is washed away from your plants and seeds. There is not enough nutrients to for the plants or their roots. Save your grass clipping and table raw vegetable scraps and peelings and make a ben and all of your garden waste throw it in the ben. Add some fertilizer to it and leaves except oak leaves and cover with black plastic and in the spring you will have great compost to add to your garden. You can also try rotted saw dust to add to garden soil instead of peat moss. If you are around where there might be a utility service chipping up tree limbs they are glad to empty their truck of this on your property. Good luck and happy gardening.
I agree with mw. One thing to keep in mind is peat moss will make the soil very acid. If the soil already has a high pH, this is a good thing. Check out pH soil on the net.
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You need to go out and buy a cheap bag of top soil for $3.00 or so. Mix it in with what you already have mixed up. Peat will eventually break down over a couple of years, so there is no long term consequence with adding too much. Peat will hold the moisture quite well, which means you might not have to water as often. Your mixture is not as bad as you think it its, it can be saved.

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