I think my eggs are dying.

[dr del]

Hi,

Ok. I bought a new mini-maglight today so I candled them to give me something to compare against in a couple of days. I got the larger size and I think it makes candling easier.

Eggs 1 & 2 look ok;





But egg three had mold on the bottom again and droplets of water on the top surface as though it was sweating.

The veins were never strong in this one but they look thinner to me and in some places it looks as though they have disintegrated. I'll be more certain in a couple of days I guess.




dr del

[Chocolate Muffin's]

Oh Dr. Del,

I don't know a thing about this, and don't have any advice to share..but this heartfelt thread is so compelling....I am praying your precious eggs thrive...kinda reminds me of being newly pregnant and worried about every little thing. I realize this is a bit diffrent, but I will be looking for updates on this, and worried until they pop their cute little heads out....and here's to hoping they will

[mechnut450]

i love the egg crat my only problem is if my eggs are not stuck together there is always one that like to roll around when I move the tub ( to check he humidity , or look in to see if i got mold). and it a pain to get them to stay upright so I take a little verm and put on top to act as aplacement holder.

I might try next year some egg foam ontop of the cratting and use water only. ( or better yet if they do great this year try a single egg un a tub and just have wet towel on the heat source to give me humidity since it runs down the doors and back on the flex ..

[dr del]

Hi,

I think the results are in but wanted some confirmation.

This is egg 3 six days ago when this began;







Four days ago;



This is it today;







The egg is sweating and noticeably less firm than the others and no matter what I do I can no longer see veins - though I can see some darker areas.

I think it is an ex-egg.

But the grate did arrive this morning so I replaced the metal temp stuff and can at least warn others not to make the same mistake I did in the future.


dr del

[WingedWolfPsion]

I would definitely use some of the athlete's foot powder on the remaining eggs. I'm sorry you lost one--the others are obviously still alive, so there's always hope.
Definitely a warning taken about substrateless incubation--watch the water level, and no splashing!

[reptidude1]

Hi, I hope they make it, and best of luck to you, being a novice ant this being my first year of breading i do have a question though. ive noticed you turned the egg over to show the bottom of it to us, but i read to not turn the egg after it has been laid or the air bubble inside will rupture?

[dr del]

Hi,

There is a risk of tearing veins loose from the inside of the shell I think?

But to be honest I was carefull and slow the first time for treating them with the powder and notsomuch today.

Egg number 3 is the only one that still has problems with mould as far as I can tell.

This is day 30 for the clutch so I'm hoping no further interaction will be needed once I toss this egg.


dr del

[WingedWolfPsion]

Hi, I hope they make it, and best of luck to you, being a novice ant this being my first year of breading i do have a question though. ive noticed you turned the egg over to show the bottom of it to us, but i read to not turn the egg after it has been laid or the air bubble inside will rupture?

In reality, this is a myth that started out of speculation. Because reptile eggs are generally not moved after they are laid, it was assumed that they could be damaged by being moved after they were laid. It made logical sense, so the warning went out. Then it was passed from person to person, and the part about how it was a guess got lost along the way.

Whenever this idea has actually been tested by brave souls willing to move reptile eggs and turn them at various stage of incubation...

...the result has been nil. There is no evidence that the eggs were harmed by it at all.

So I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm using substrateless incubation this year, and I'm pretty happy with it. It does work well if you keep the eggs up off the water. I simply set a fluorescent light grate into a HovaBator, over top of the included water reservoir and screen. I filled the reservoir, taped over the air holes, and that was it. It's controlled with a Herpstat, I just removed the wafer thermostat completely.

I have 5 clutches of ball python eggs crammed in there, and they're all incubating perfectly. I've already hatched 3 clutches in it, and just put more eggs in as they were laid.