Worried about one egg - maybe two.

I was just posting in my other thread (Whoops... my roommate messed up!), and thought I'd start a new one about this issue. I just went upstairs and candled the eggs, added a TINY bit of water, and replaced the glad-wrap since it was a week old. Good news is that all of them have veins, even the one egg I'm really worried about. :gj:

But the bad news is regarding that top egg, since it looks really collapsed from the roommate incident - she opened the tub almost daily while I was out of town, misunderstanding my directions to open the incubator. They were all nice and plump after being laid, and now 3-4 of them look kinda sad and dimpled. :( Here are a few pictures, and I'd really appreciate advice on how they look! Will they still hatch fine, considering I see healthy veins and everything?

Top right is the one I'm most concerned about...
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...3/P1010123.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...3/P1010125.jpg

But they all candled nicely! :)
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...3/P1010130.jpg

P.S. In case you missed my original thread, she laid 7 eggs (no slugs) on 6/22 - so it's now day 18.

It looks extremely dry in there could be a humidity issue,

Yeah, get that Humidity UP....With in a few days they should be nice and plump again....I'd keep that lid closed for like 2 weeks, let the humidity build up...Some breeders have gone as far as leaving the lid closed until the last week, and only opening for air exchange...

I wouldnt be worried as to losing anything, they candled nice...Just get that humidity up over or around 80%.

Good luck.

Thank you both! :gj: I added about a teaspoon (maybe less) of water earlier, and replaced the glad wrap nice and tight. I'll leave it sealed for at least two weeks, unless things are still looking dry next week - in which case I'll open just to add more water.

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Originally Posted by Wildman09

I wouldnt be worried as to losing anything, they candled nice...Just get that humidity up over or around 80%.

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Btw, the humidity gauge is reading between 95-100... I do have it stuck IN the substrate, though, so I wonder if the ambient humidity is much lower.

From what I see, I think they will all hatch.
I'd use some more substrate and push it along the sides of the eggs. I use saturated vermiculite. It looks like you have humidity/ moisture problems.
I'll snap a pick of some eggs that should hatch next week.

How deep is the hatchrite?

One more thing, if you don't mind - sorry, I'm a total newbie! :oops: I also replaced the thermometer while changing the glad wrap, since the other one was doing funky things... the new one is reading 92 inside the tub, so I lowered the thermostat a notch to bring it down. Will that cause a problem, either from being at 92 for a while and/or lowering it now? And to clarify, I should be keeping the INSIDE TUB temps at 89, right??

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Originally Posted by sho220

How deep is the hatchrite?

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Maybe 1.5 inches... approximately what they suggested on the package. Should I add more?

This how I set my eggs up. The ones on the bottom left were laid on 5-18-'10. The ones on the upper right were laid on 6-29-'10.(in my cheap but trusty hovabator LOL, it's time for me to upgrade!)

Of course, there are plenty people out there putting eggs on light difusers, etc., and getting the same reslts. BABIES!

I kinda put the eggs down in the substrate. You can see one starting to dimple in the bottom left clutch. They will do this when getting close to hatch date(5-18 clutch).
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/v...e2010002RE.jpg

Definitely looks like I need more substrate! I don't want to bother them again right now, so I'll wait a few days to see if they plump up first... ;)

89 sounds good, but I don't think 92 for a short period hurt the eggs at all.
You may be a newbie, but you are on top of things and know what you're doing.
I like for the substrate to be in contact with my eggs, so yes I probably would have used more and had it touching the eggs more on the sides, etc.
But, we have to remember there are alot of people going substrateless and having great results.

Thanks again... it's a learning process and I'm a nervous wreck, but I'm sure it will work out okay! I hope. :oops:

You eggs will go fine. Last year i hatch the worst egg ever.

just make sure to keep a good humidity for the rest of the incubation.

Just throwing out another suggestion.. When my JCP clutch started doing this to me last year, I spritzed some sphagnum moss with warm water and lightly draped it over the eggs. They plumped back out (but not fully) in just a few days. Good luck with your clutch!

Also remember, every time you open that tub to make adjustments you're losing all your humidity. I think the most under-preached concept in reptile breeding is that in 95% of cases, it's in the eggs best interest to just leave them alone. I learned that the hard way for sure, but I think it should be a golden rule of incubation. If you know your temperatures are fine and you properly set up your eggs, and unless something looks alarmingly wrong, just leave eggs be. If something is alarming, make the necessary adjustments, and then leave them be, haha. The less time you spend stressing over them and trying to fix every worrying little thing, the better chance your eggs have in my opinion. I know how incredibly frustrating it can be to not try to fix all the little micro-issues with eggs, in fact, it's nearly impossible, especially when you only have one or two clutches a season. But for your eggs, I would say you made your adjustment with adding the water, now seal them up, and leave them be. Good luck though! This wasn't meant to sound like a lecture--that wasn't the spirit behind this at all. I'm coming from being a beginner myself, and I've had some failures in the past associated with messing with my eggs too much. I'm sure those guys will be fine, so let us know what slithers out of those eggs in 40 days!

Cheers,
-Matt

You're right Matt... I will leave them alone for now, unless I see something "alarmingly" wrong. :gj:

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"...Just get that humidity up over or around 80%"

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Start with that, and then add another 20% humidity, another couple of inches of substrate and WAYYY more than a tablespoonful of water.
Those eggs look repairable.
Good luck.

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Originally Posted by mykee

Start with that, and then add another 20% humidity, another couple of inches of substrate and WAYYY more than a tablespoonful of water.
Those eggs look repairable.
Good luck.

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Thanks! One question, though... people are telling to fix things, but also to leave it alone for a while. So do I risk opening the tub again this week, in order to add substrate and water - or do I wait it out first? Sorry if I'm being a little nit-picky, but y'all are confusing me. :D

i would say to get yourself the light diffuser and put the eggs on that. This way you can soak down that substrate and avoid the guessing game with your humidity. Keep your temps at 89 and then you can just visually check your eggs every week. I personally like the subsrateless method because it removes some of the guessing.

good luck. the clutch looks good!

Thanks bones! ;) Good news... I checked on them (without opening the tub) last night, and all but that top right one have plumped back up. They look almost like the day they were laid, so I guess things are okay now. :gj: I'll add a little more water next week, only if that one egg is still collapsed - otherwise I will promise to leave them alone!

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Originally Posted by bones93

I personally like the subsrateless method because it removes some of the guessing.

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P.S. I think I'll do that for my next clutches... seems to be the preferred method, so obviously it works!