crested not hatching

i think i just tend to micro manage things too much, but i had one gecko hatch out today while the other is still in the egg. last time, they both hatched out at the same time... the one slit his but at least 12 hours later has not emerged.
is there a timeframe when i might want to look at cutting the egg? it'd be like neuro-surgery on such a tiny little thing.

If the gecko has slit the egg but not come out chances are slim that you will be able to save it. With cresteds, once they slit the egg they have to come out pretty much immediately, otherwise they will suffocate because the liquid inside the egg starts to solidify.

You can cut the egg to get the gecko out (I recommend using cuticle scissors), but unless you catch it pretty much within minutes of slitting chances of it still being alive are not good. Sometimes they just aren't strong enough to make it out. The only thing to do in this situation is to to make sure that the parents have a good diet, the female has plenty of calcium reserves and that your incubation conditions are correct. Other than that you just have to let nature take her course and realize that sometimes an animal is not meant to be.

okay this is what i originally figured. thank you!

actually i just went down to cut it open and realized that it wasn't a slit in the egg... it was a just a piece of something stuck to it, maybe from the other gecko.
so i'm going to guess this other egg probably won't make it? or do they not necessarily hatch the same day?

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Originally Posted by mlededee

If the gecko has slit the egg but not come out chances are slim that you will be able to save it. With cresteds, once they slit the egg they have to come out pretty much immediately, otherwise they will suffocate because the liquid inside the egg starts to solidify.

You can cut the egg to get the gecko out (I recommend using cuticle scissors), but unless you catch it pretty much within minutes of slitting chances of it still being alive are not good. Sometimes they just aren't strong enough to make it out. The only thing to do in this situation is to to make sure that the parents have a good diet, the female has plenty of calcium reserves and that your incubation conditions are correct. Other than that you just have to let nature take her course and realize that sometimes an animal is not meant to be.

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I agree 100%. I always let nature take its course. As hard as it may be sometimes. I lost two and it was my first season. I just feel if they aren't strong enough to make it out of the egg, they wouldn't thrive outside of it. They may survive, but not thrive.

However on another note. Since you said it hadn't pipped yet. Sometimes they can take 24 hours to come out after the clutch mate, sometimes a week or so. I have had two babies hatch 6 days apart. As long as the egg appears normal, no nasty smells, and doesn't appear to be dead. Just leave it be, and it will hatch eventually:)

Since it hasn't actually pipped just let it be. They don't always hatch at the same time--like Kristy said, it can be up to a week between clutchmates hatching.

well thanks for the help ladies... i knew i could count on you!

Ditto on letting the egg be. If it goes bad you will notice it begin to sink in and mold. Very rarely do they slit the egg and not make it out fine. They dont always jump right out of the egg either. If you see its head peeking out let it be, and (in my experience, 99+% of the time) it wil emerge on its own within a few hours.
Nick