Dry eggs - esp. for Robert and Vaughn

[Marla]

Last night I did a thorough cleaning of my cresty enclosure and found eggs that were well-hidden up at the front of the laybox. I'd been glancing in the laybox but hadn't been pulling it out to do so and had not seen the eggs. The previous (first) egg-laying was on September 24, so I'm figuring these eggs are probably already 3-4 weeks old.

They've been in the laybox getting periodic misting when I mist the cage (but not deliberate attention to the laybox), and both are small and one is dented on top. Neither was discolored, cracked, or otherwise appeared harmed, but they are the size of freshly-laid eggs.

I went ahead and put them in a container with perlite and put them next to the other eggs, but is there any chance at all of these eggs hatching, do you think? I hate that I missed them. :| :roll:

[kavmon]

hey marla, i missed a couple eggs this year, one hatched one didn't. i would candle them with a small flashlight to check for the embryo or veins. i incubate in a small rubbermaid with a few holes in it and a small water dish inside. i use perlite as substrate.
i'd try to keep the humidity a little higher round 70-80%. that's all i can think of for now, hope for the best.


vaughn

[Marla]

Thanks, Vaughn. I didn't even think of candling them (doh!) so I will definitely do that when I get home. It would be great if I could end up hatching one or both of them, but if not it will serve as a reminder to do a better job of checking for eggs at least.

[RobertCoombs]

Hey Marla , Sorry been a bit busy lately .. This is the main reason I use paper towels in my cages for substrate I have also gotten pretty good about guestimation of egg arrival ... once the females start looking a little plump i will palpate them and see how far along they are only then will i put in a laying container i use slightly dampened vermiculite and pack it pretty hard in to a plastic bowl leaving the surface smooth.. I then use a small plant tray with a hole cut out in the bottom ..over turned to cover the bowl of vermiculite every day when i feed i lif the plant tray and look and see if the vermiculite has been disturbed , if so, i pull it out and inspect it thoroughly for eggs the last few times i have caught them in mid deposition and simply remove them after Im sure they have finishd and start back filling around the eggs

[Marla]

Thanks, Robert. I actually use newspaper for substrate, but have been leaving the lay box inside the enclosure all the time, and it has about 1.5" of sphagnum and peat moss in it. So far this has kept Carmen from laying in the dirt of the small potted pothos I have -- in fact, she ignores it. I think my substrate in the lay box is probably a little deeper than optimum, though, since it allowed her to hide the eggs from me so well. I don't feel comfortable taking the box out right now, because it's been 8.5 weeks since the first eggs, so I suspect she may be going to lay again soon (Carmen is the least visible of the gex, and tends to hang out between layers of newspaper during the day).

[RobertCoombs]

If you suspect she is going to lay soon you should probably be able to see the eggs , slight lumps just infront of the back legs and when handleing are very easy to feel