"even before they turned so bad they were clear when candeled as compared to red veins in others"

Yes, that's just it. Many eggs can "look" good in the beginning for many different reasons, but viable ones that got fertilized by the sperm will develope veins as you mentioned if there is a viable embryo starting to grow inside within about a week or so. Of course they can also die much later on too for many reasons as well. Substrate too dry/wet, lack of oxygen, embryo defect(s), lethal gene that was never meant to be, etc...

Like you said, eggs that are not viable from the beginning will have a solid yellowish glow when candled. These will inevitably begin to go bad and smell after a while, even if still fairly plump with no visible fungus or dimpling yet. These are the ones I always toss that have no hope. I always cut these open just for the heck of it to double-verify they never had anything in them that was ever once viable whatsoever, even anything very, very small in it's beginning stages. I'll cut these and press the contents out to make sure there is nothing but solid yellow liquid before they are flushed. I have never been wrong even once when doing this. The funky smell bad eggs give off is very unique once you have experienced a few over time, and you can easily pick these single eggs out if they aren't part of the inner clutch pile. Most bad eggs from the beginning don't tend to stick together anyway, and lack the natural "glue" that good shells seem to have. They are usually soft and rubbery compared to firmer, leathery textured eggs too.


good luck with them!


~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"


serpentinespecialties.webs.com

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