Sml, med or lrg vermiculite?

[ashs_dreams]

I was wondering if people use the small, medium or large size vermiculite. As in, are the actual peices of vermiculite small, med or lrg? I got the only pack they had in bunnings and its small, like really really small, and I dont really want to use it anymore as i have heard that it hasnt had the best hatch rate compared with the med or lrg size?

Does anyone think that this really makes a difference though? Brian Barnett does.

[ashs_dreams]

And i mentioned Brian Barnett because he has written about it and i really respect him as one of the most sucessfull breeders.

I know that there are alot of very experianced people on this site that could answer this question and either dismiss it or contribute some much appreciated answers that i couldnt find anywhere else.

[KWKW]

Yea brian barnett says Medium thats what he said to me the other day to use for my spotted eggs!
But im it the same position her in melbourne cant find Medium grade vermiculite

would be great to hear where people find it!

[ponybug]

i use the stuff from bunnings, not sure if they sell different sizes where you are, but here it's all the same, i used it with great sucess

[herptrader]

I use the large which we got in a large bag from a manufacturer near Dandenong. (South East of Melbourne). I have successfully used it on things as small as gecko eggs and as large as large python eggs.

Again, using the large was on Brian's recomendation.

[caustichumor]

I think the stuff at bunnings is p- 400? a medium grade. too fine and it holds too much moisture.

[krusty]

i only use large as thats what brian told me as well.i used the fine stuff once as thats all i could get at the time for some dragon eggs and i lost them all.so never again.

[junglepython2]

The bags from BigW which I think are the same as what Bunnings stock, vary from fine to large and there is not indication on the packaging that I can see. If you hold them up to the light in the store you can generally tell though. Often there are seperate grades on the one shelf.

[sassy]

re where to buy... MELBOURNE people... there is a company called 'exfoliators' they supply the wholesale nursery industry... they will have or b able to order whatever size vermiculite u want, altho im not sure if they deal with the general public, im sure that u can make enquiries
http://www.exfoliators.com.au/
they may also have outlets in other states, i have never needed to check

hope this is helpful.

[ashs_dreams]

hey ponybug, I'm in brisbane. I get the 5L Vermiculite, Brunnings brand (yes it bunnings with an r not a typo). Its in a white bag and the peices of vermiculite are on average about 2-3mm so thats small. But i couldnt find anything else and had to even go to a few different bunnings to find that even.

Herptrader, he said medium isnt bad either only problem was is that there are sometimes too much fine vermiculite in there so thats why he prefers large size.

Caustic humor, i didnt even think that the finer stuff would hold more moisture... It didnt say on the bad if it was 400p or anything but its obvoiusly very small.

And about Brian, I don't know the guy personally but i think he's a legend so if anyone wants to pass the message on it'd be much appreciated.

[Glider]

I've used some larger-grained stuff last year (like 1cm chunks) and it worked a treat. I bought some from Bunnings this season (like .5cm chunks, 'Brunnings' brand) and lost my first two cluches before I was kindly given some of the larger stuff again and advised not to use the smaller stuff- all eggs so far now are going great.

[ashs_dreams]

If anyone in brisbane knows where to find the lrg stuff could u please let me know?

[ashs_dreams]

Originally Posted by Glider

I've used some larger-grained stuff last year (like 1cm chunks) and it worked a treat. I bought some from Bunnings this season (like .5cm chunks, 'Brunnings' brand) and lost my first two cluches before I was kindly given some of the larger stuff again and advised not to use the smaller stuff- all eggs so far now are going great.

Do u know where they got it from. I'm quite worried as i really dont wanna use the small one now but i cant find the bigger one.

[ponybug]

Originally Posted by ashs_dreams

hey ponybug, I'm in brisbane. I get the 5L Vermiculite, Brunnings brand (yes it bunnings with an r not a typo). Its in a white bag and the peices of vermiculite are on average about 2-3mm so thats small. But i couldnt find anything else and had to even go to a few different bunnings to find that even.
:

yep, thats it, i used it for 3 seasons and had great results for snakes and dragons, but this season i'm using perilite also, putting a layer over the vermiculite, seems to be working........

[ashs_dreams]

Thanks ponybug. Well thats great that you've had such positive results.

Can i get perlite from bunnings? and how do u use it, if you dont mind me asking.