Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my female corn laid six eggs on Feb 6th, (and was egg bound)about three days later three of the eggs had collapsed and now we have lost another two. I opened the two we just lost and they had started developing (looks like earthworms inside). What is happening? They are in an incubator at 83degrees and in moist sphagnum moss. Ideas?

If they weren't fertilized, you'll lose them no matter what. Are they white and dry looking, or more yellow and slick looking?
-----
Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

Nevermind ont he fertile issue.

If you have fertile eggs collapsing, it is only because they don't have enough water to sustain them. It's a fine line between enough and too much, but you have to experiment with more and more until they stay plump. Are you loosing too much water through evaporation?
-----
Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

I agree with Darin. If the eggs are collapsing, they are probably drying out. Don't be too quick to call them dead however. Spray a little water on them and wait a while. They will often plump back up.

You didn't say in your post. Are your eggs covered in the incubator? They should be in an air tight container. There should be 100% humidity in the container, that means a little condensation on the lid is ok.

Don't ever assume an egg is dead unless it is rotten and stinky and covered with mold.
-----
Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

I never heard the air tight part. I always read that as long as they are covered. I think Kathy Love's book says to put paper towels over them to judge humidity. If the towel it dry, the eggs are too dry. Forgive me Kathy, if I read that wrong.
If it is in an air tight container, say a saeled deli cup, where do the hatchlings go, how do they breath. That just does not seem right to me.
Are you refering to the incubator being air tight? I thought you wanted the air to flow, thats why they sell the air flow models.
Please correct me if I am wrong, before my females lay.

Oh, and I have also heard never count an egg dead until it smells. I have gotten info from a lot of different people that they have had eggs hatch that looked below standards or dead, but did not smell.
-----
**********Misty**********
I haven't lost my mind.... it's backed up on disk somewhere.

2.3.0 bearded dragons
0.1.0 water dragon
1.3.0 leopard geckos
12.20.0 corn snakes
1.1.0 jungle corns
2.2.0 king snakes
1.1.0 false water cobras
1.1.0 royal (Ball) pythons
0.1.0 kenyan sand boa
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
0.1.0 rat snake
0.0.2 prairie ringneck snakes
0.1.0 chilean rose hair tarantula
1.1.0 emperor scorpions
1.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrots
0.1.0 German Shepherd hybrid dog

You want air movement inside the incubater so that you have uniform heat. Otherwise you'll get cold and hot spots.

You have to check on the eggs from time to time. I use clear plastic containers so I can see the eggs without opening the container. When the eggs hatch, you take the hatchlings out.

I don't mean tight tight air tight. The eggs themselves have to breath. But they don't need much air. Dehydration is a much bigger problem than oxygen deprivation.

I guess I have made statements that were big and bold and you have taken everything I said very literally.

I don't mean you should wait until the egg stinks the whole house up. The point I was trying to make is that a dead moldy egg in the incubator won't hurt anything. But if you take that egg out and cut it open to see what is going on inside, that egg is now dead weather it was before or not.
-----
Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

The way that you worded things sounded pretty literal to me. Also, I am not trying to criticize what you said, but when giving info to someone who is new at things, say what you mean, as they will follow your directions to a T, not knowing any better, thinking you know what you are doing. I am not taking your words literally, but just wanted to clarify what you mean. As I mentioned, I have also heard to leave eggs alone, until you are sure they are bad.
thanks for the input
-----
**********Misty**********
I haven't lost my mind.... it's backed up on disk somewhere.

2.3.0 bearded dragons
0.1.0 water dragon
1.3.0 leopard geckos
12.20.0 corn snakes
1.1.0 jungle corns
2.2.0 king snakes
1.1.0 false water cobras
1.1.0 royal (Ball) pythons
0.1.0 kenyan sand boa
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
0.1.0 rat snake
0.0.2 prairie ringneck snakes
0.1.0 chilean rose hair tarantula
1.1.0 emperor scorpions
1.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrots
0.1.0 German Shepherd hybrid dog

Actually, it is OK to have eggs in an air tight container such as a deli cup with no holes. I have found it works out much better this way and the eggs are much less likely to dry out. I incubate in large deli cups with tape on the outside of them to cover all the holes. I check on them about every two weeks and this allows enough air transfer for them to be OK. About a week before the hatchings are due I pull the tape off and it works out great.
-----
Carol Huddleston
www.lowbellyreptiles.com

Thank you Carol

Blackheart, sorry I opened my mouth!

>>Actually, it is OK to have eggs in an air tight container such as a deli cup with no holes. I have found it works out much better this way and the eggs are much less likely to dry out. I incubate in large deli cups with tape on the outside of them to cover all the holes. I check on them about every two weeks and this allows enough air transfer for them to be OK. About a week before the hatchings are due I pull the tape off and it works out great.
>>-----
>>Carol Huddleston
>>www.lowbellyreptiles.com
-----
Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

LOL. We all do things differently. I had just never heard of the airtight thing and wanted to know how it worked. :-P
Its nice to have a wide range of methods and opinions on this forum.
Thanks for the input!

-----
**********Misty**********
I haven't lost my mind.... it's backed up on disk somewhere.

2.3.0 bearded dragons
0.1.0 water dragon
1.3.0 leopard geckos
12.20.0 corn snakes
1.1.0 jungle corns
2.2.0 king snakes
1.1.0 false water cobras
1.1.0 royal (Ball) pythons
0.1.0 kenyan sand boa
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
0.1.0 rat snake
0.0.2 prairie ringneck snakes
0.1.0 chilean rose hair tarantula
1.1.0 emperor scorpions
1.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrots
0.1.0 German Shepherd hybrid dog

Just fyi, the eggs are in a plastic square container with a snap on lid with a few air holes in it. There is always condensation on the lid and walls of the container and I check periodicaly to see if any areas are drying out and to make sure the temp is regulated. I did not remove the eggs until they were smelly and they were pretty much flat. The last remaining egg seems okay so far, it was the smallest one of the bunch and is a bit darker than the rest but we will see in a few weeks.
Oh, and I never would had cut the eggs open if I wasn't sure they were no longer viable. Can you have too much moisture in the incubator (short of puddles of water)?
Thanks for the info.