Candle at 30 days?

[AKA Dave]

So I've reached the 30 day mark on my first clutch in over 20 years. Exciting times! The girls are very curious as to what is going on inside the eggs. Is it safe to candle them at this point provided I keep them in the same orientation or should I not mess with them at all?

Dave

[AerialArtist]

I candled my eggs at 26 days with no issues. I know some people candle throughout incubation. I'm not aware of any problems that can arise, but perhaps someone more experienced can chime in.

[Galaxygirl]

I've HEARD that candling them can stress/cause them to move around and encourage the twisting of their umbilical cord. I don't think there's a sure way of knowing, but many people avoid messing with eggs for fear of causing complications such as this.

[stickyalvinroll]

I've candled my first clutch 3 years ago very routinely (like once every 2 weeks) just becuase I was excited and curious to see what's inside. They've all hatched and are healthy. I don't see why you can't candle at day 30 or any other day

[wolfy-hound]

I've never seen any issue with candling. I've candled late in the process to make sure the hatchlings-to-be are still moving.

[AerialArtist]

I'm trying to keep candling to a minimum to be on the safe side, but I've heard the bigger risk is checking on pipped hatchlings too much. I guess being too nosey can scare them back into the egg and make them more likely to twist up in the umbilical cord.