Eggs candling green?

Hey all,

This is my first time posting here. I was hoping to get some insights from some folks on here about something I'm seeing with a clutch of mine. This is an 8 egg clutch from a pairing of Lemonblast X Enchi Mojave Spider that was laid on 4/19.

I've been candling my eggs about 2-3 times/week to keep an eye on things, and just recently one of my larger and healthier looking eggs began to candle green. I've attached a picture of it below, as well as a picture of a normal egg for comparison.

http://i.imgur.com/tH0FkZf.png

http://i.imgur.com/bUQDhWW.png

As you can see, the veins all look really good, and everything else about the egg looks healthy/normal, aside from the fact that it is so green. There is also plenty of movement in the egg (no more or less than ordinary). The picture probably doesn't even do it justice, but the egg looks like its from Krypton.

Any thoughts / suggestions on what could be causing this would be extremely helpful.

Thanks,
Sarah

I have never seen this before. Hopefully someone out there knows.

I have never sen it first hand, but check this link out.

http://www.iherp.com/Answers/Reptile....aspx?Id=29772

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Originally Posted by joelouis821

I have never sen it first hand, but check this link out.

http://www.iherp.com/Answers/Reptile....aspx?Id=29772

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Thanks. I've read through that thread, but it didn't look like the issue was ever positively confirmed (though the baby did seem to hatch, albeit a bit softer and weaker than its siblings).

Really curious as to what the issue may be, considering how rare it seems. I'll try to keep this thread up to date with pics as the eggs progress.

Wow I've never seen anything like that, it looks like your about to hatch an alien snake lol

My sarcastic hope was that the egg only turned green like that when you've hit a 5 gene snake . . . I'm guessing that's not it . . . I just hope the little guy comes out ok.

Or else I'll bring the ham!

I'm wondering if it is some sort of bacterial growth inside the egg?

Okay, after doing a whole bunch of searching (I am very curious). The egg "white" of an egg is called the albumin. Inside the Albumin is a higher then normal level of B2 which cause a green (glow in the dark) tint to eggs. It is not super harmful. B2 is essential to blood cell production. There is no smell to the egg and should incubate as normal.

I also read somewhere that it makes the shell harder and turns the albumin into a gel like substance. It can also "stain" the yolk green.

I am not 100% sure of this though, if it is or is not the issue. But I thought I would throw it out there and you can research it yourself if you feel up to it.

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Originally Posted by BCS

Okay, after doing a whole bunch of searching (I am very curious). The egg "white" of an egg is called the albumin. Inside the Albumin is a higher then normal level of B2 which cause a green (glow in the dark) tint to eggs. It is not super harmful. B2 is essential to blood cell production. There is no smell to the egg and should incubate as normal.

I also read somewhere that it makes the shell harder and turns the albumin into a gel like substance. It can also "stain" the yolk green.

I am not 100% sure of this though, if it is or is not the issue. But I thought I would throw it out there and you can research it yourself if you feel up to it.

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Wow, thanks for the research, very interesting. I'll have to do some more reading.

Sounds like, if it is this increase in B2 levels, that I maybe shouldn't be too worried, as it doesn't seem too terribly harmful and there probably isn't much that I can do anyways.

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Originally Posted by hockeygirl28

Wow, thanks for the research, very interesting. I'll have to do some more reading.

Sounds like, if it is this increase in B2 levels, that I maybe shouldn't be too worried, as it doesn't seem too terribly harmful and there probably isn't much that I can do anyways.

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Yea... it was pretty hard finding this out. Every time I googled "egg green" or "candling green eggs" etc, I would get websites explaining over cooked hard boiled eggs. Hahaha. But as soon as I started reading about B2 levels, googling "B2 Levels in eggs" finally got me some answers.

Hope your snake turns out fine. Like i said... this still may not be the reason as I am no scientist and the internet can be misleading. Update us in the future. It would be nice to know how it turns out. And future knowledge for any of us that may end up with a green egg.

The whole pic is shaded green. Post a pic so the egg crate is "white"!

Wow this is the first time i see a "Hulk egg"
i hope the baby is ok!
keep us updated and good luck:)

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Originally Posted by fLako0aGuiiLaR

Wow this is the first time i see a "Hulk egg"
i hope the baby is ok!
keep us updated and good luck:)

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I hope the baby hatches out ok too. Maybe we'll get a hulk snake? :D That would be awesome.

Very interesting. Keep us updated!

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Originally Posted by PhoenixGate

I hope the baby hatches out ok too. Maybe we'll get a hulk snake? :D That would be awesome.

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So if we get a Hulk snake that means a retic will be hatching out of a bp egg?

That's strange.

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Originally Posted by grcforce327

The whole pic is shaded green. Post a pic so the egg crate is "white"!

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The reason the egg crate appears green in the picture is the because the entirety of the light source (flashlight) is first being passed through the egg, causing the whole area in the light to be shaded green. That's why I posted the other egg pic, to show the difference.

Hey everyone, figured I'd provide an update.

It turns out that whatever is causing the egg to appear green is lethal. After my original post I had a second, smaller egg that began to candle green, and both eggs died (smaller egg died on day 37, bigger egg day 41). It does seem to be the case that it is indeed an increase in B2 that is causing this, as the albumin and yolk had both seemed to solidify beyond the point of being consumable for the snake, and the dead eggs did not create an odor.

So while the B2 in and of itself is not necessarily harmful, the eventual impact it has on the snakes ability to absorb nutrients seems to be fatal.

Hopefully this info is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

Sorry for the loss of the eggs. Thank you for all the insight and information. :gj:

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Originally Posted by hockeygirl28

Hey everyone, figured I'd provide an update.

It turns out that whatever is causing the egg to appear green is lethal. After my original post I had a second, smaller egg that began to candle green, and both eggs died (smaller egg died on day 37, bigger egg day 41). It does seem to be the case that it is indeed an increase in B2 that is causing this, as the albumin and yolk had both seemed to solidify beyond the point of being consumable for the snake, and the dead eggs did not create an odor.

So while the B2 in and of itself is not necessarily harmful, the eventual impact it has on the snakes ability to absorb nutrients seems to be fatal.

Hopefully this info is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

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Okay, from what I read it was not lethal, but I guess it is. My research was mostly about chicken eggs so it may be different with snakes. Thank you for the update and sorry to hear about the eggs. I wonder what causes the higher then normal growth of B2 vitamin? That was one thing I could not find any info on. It must have to do with one or both of the parents (maybe a genetic disease), otherwise two eggs would not have had this issue which makes it seem it is a problem with the parents and not the egg itself? Has this female been paired with this male before?

I'm sorry for your loss. But you still have more good eggs!

If it were more common, I might be inclined to think that it could be analogous to meconium staining in humans. However, I would bet that it is most likely bacterial. Pseudomonas can produce a bluish green pigment and loves moist/damp environments. That would be my bet.

Just a "little" Het Clown ovy to a Pastel Clown ;)

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Any idea if this could cause hard yolk problems for hatchlings just before pipping?