Warning for Crestie breeders old and new.

[Crestie Chris]

So sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing and hopefully preventing further deaths from this incubation medium. Something that I might suggest here is the SIM incubator where the eggs are suspended over the incubation media so that they cannot get in contact with it, link here

Might be worth a look

[purple-vixen]

Aw hon I'm so sorry this happened to you, I never thought about this and I think tonight I may be trying something to prevent this...

You did your best hon and thanks for the heads up on this xxx

RIP Little dude that eat anything!

Originally Posted by LFG

I wonder if it would be possible to create a mesh bag full of vermiculite which could then sit inside the tub with the eggs positioned on top and nested into the mesh-covered vermiculite, so lying on top of and in contact with the vermiculite but without the possibility of hatchlings ingesting it.

Just a mesh layer on top might be enough.

That's a good idea, might be worth trialling this.

[Michelle G]

RIP little one...xxxxxx

[RedGex]

I am so sorry for your loss and thankyou for bringing this to our attention, I am shocked at the amount of vermiculite in his little belly. I currently use large vermiculite and recently put an inch layer of perlite on top. I will be checking particle sizes tonight though. RIP little crestie.

[weegie]

sorry for your loss:-( we havent had any crestie eggs/hathclings yet but i took there laying tub out for the same reason i noticed a few what looked like vermculate poop's around the adults tank wonder if its just a crestie thing as ive never notcied my gargs eating it?

[fiesta599]

im so sorry for ur loss,i hope your ok.
i cant begin to imagine what ur going through right now so thankyou for sharing this with everyone and making them aware of the risks involved with hatchling cresties.
RIP little one

[Sweetcorn]

Originally Posted by KerryLou

Aww Sweetcorn, I am so sorry to hear this. But thank you for posting, as a first time breeder this is something I hadn't even considered. But I will now be watching even closer than I already was (if that is possible).

Thanks KerryLou and I'm glad it's brought it to your attention. Best of luck with your breeding.

Originally Posted by Crestie Chris

So sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing and hopefully preventing further deaths from this incubation medium. Something that I might suggest here is the SIM incubator where the eggs are suspended over the incubation media so that they cannot get in contact with it, link here

Might be worth a look

Cheers Chris. I did see those a while ago but quite pricey to ship. Any idea if there are any stockist in the UK.

Originally Posted by purple-vixen

Aw hon I'm so sorry this happened to you, I never thought about this and I think tonight I may be trying something to prevent this...

You did your best hon and thanks for the heads up on this xxx

RIP Little dude that eat anything!



That's a good idea, might be worth trialling this.

Thanks hun.....so any results from your experiment last night?

Originally Posted by Michelle G

RIP little one...xxxxxx

Thanks Michelle

Originally Posted by RedGex

I am so sorry for your loss and thankyou for bringing this to our attention, I am shocked at the amount of vermiculite in his little belly. I currently use large vermiculite and recently put an inch layer of perlite on top. I will be checking particle sizes tonight though. RIP little crestie.

Thanks RedGex.....I was very shocked too. Initially it looked like a small amount but as we pulled the stomach out it was just packed full.

I've asked hubby to look at work to an alternative to the smaller vermiculite. I've seen someone using Aquatic Pond Soil before. Has anyone else used this as a hatching medium? It looks quite large and also changes colour when wet so easier to judge if it's drying out too much.

[Sweetcorn]

Originally Posted by weegie

sorry for your loss:-( we havent had any crestie eggs/hathclings yet but i took there laying tub out for the same reason i noticed a few what looked like vermculate poop's around the adults tank wonder if its just a crestie thing as ive never notcied my gargs eating it?

Thanks Weegie. I've no idea I'm afraid. They obviously have no clue what is safe to eat and what is not. I've only ever used the vermiculite for incubating.

Originally Posted by fiesta599

im so sorry for ur loss,i hope your ok.
i cant begin to imagine what ur going through right now so thankyou for sharing this with everyone and making them aware of the risks involved with hatchling cresties.
RIP little one

Thanks hun.....it was quite a stressful weekend and very upsetting. Was kind of bitter sweet to then have another hatch a few hours after this little one passed away, from an egg I thought was no good.


I'm so glad that people are reading this and taking note.

Hubby wondered too if the colour change could be like jaundice in humans where the liver isn't functioning.

[ReptileLady]

I'm using eco-earth to incubate mine at the moment, I have 3 eggs and all are going strong. I will let everyone know how the hatchlings are, but I had a thought about your little one last night..

Is it not possible that the vermiculite had stuck to him, and when he shed he ate the vermiculite with the skin? I've seen so many pictures of hatchling cresties that still have bits of vermiculite stuck to them so have never used it for this reason..therefore I don't know how long the vermiculite sticks to them for, but is this not a possibility?

I'm hoping that by incubating on soil, IF any was swallowed accidentaly it would be passed easily enough. I also have the egg containers in the room I spend most of my time in so I can see a hatchling as soon as possible.

[freekygeeky]

Originally Posted by Sweetcorn

I've never seen the larger vermiculite. Have you ever used it?

didnt get a chance to (stopped breeding) but they hadd it at my local gardening shop