Seramis as incubation medium

Justin

New member
Hi guys,
When incubating Strophurus/Diplodactylus eggs with seramis, does everyone use 1:1 ratio with water by weight as with perlite etc?
 

Hilde

Administrator
Staff member
The granules will hold all the water internally, so you don't have to worry about ratio. Just cover the granules with water in some container and stir a few times. You'll notice some bubbling. This is the air that's being forced out of the granules and being replaced by water. Once the bubbling is pretty much done, just drain it for a few minutes in a sieve or collander. I don't use Seramis, but a similar substrate available here, ceramic soil. It takes about 15-20 minutes for the excess water to drain, so I would think it's close to the same with Seramis.

Once it's drained put it into your incubation container and it's ready. There should be no standing water at the bottom.
 

oli

New member
i've found that a 1:1 ratio of media to water by weight is generally very dry, so I use a 1:1 ratio by volume. Has anyone else thought this?
 

Hilde

Administrator
Staff member
SuperHatch incubation medium is calcined clay. It's almost the same as Seramis. I can't recall right now what Seramis is made of, but it's almost identical. I've been using Profile Aquatic Pond Soil (a.k.a. Turface) for 12 years now. It's much cheaper if you buy it at garden centres or wherever pond supplies are sold.

All three products are fired clay, some variation in formula and manufacture, but it's all the same for our purposes. The water is held in microscopic pores in the particles, so you won't see any standing water like you would with perlite, and no soggy mess like vermiculite. It doesn't pack down tight, allows air transfer around the whole egg, yet still keeps an evenly moist environment.
The clay also seems to hold heat better, which makes any temperature change a slow process, no shock to the egg with sudden heat loss.
 
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