Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read plenty arguing either way on this issue, but I was just curious as to whether everyone here will leave a moldy egg attached or remove it if it is solidly attached to a clump of good eggs. I ask, because a number of eggs dropped by my Amel this year have since become molded. Those which were seperate from the rest of the pack and clearly no longer viable I removed, but a number of others are adhered to the larger clump which includes many healthy eggs. Some of these moldy eggs actually still appear plump and viable as well. They have been in incubation for about 10 days now and the mold which formed a few days ago does not appear to be spreading beyond the initial eggs it appeared on. So my question is do I risk damaging the mold free eggs by seperating out the moldy eggs or do I just let incubation run its course with the moldy eggs attached and see if any are actually still viable. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

For what it's worth, I once tried to pull a moldy egg away from a good egg and put a small rip in the good egg's shell. So I come down solidly on the don't pull them apart side. On the other hand, I've heard claims that a taut piece of thread can be used as a saw to cut the glue fastening two eggs together. I haven't tried it, but it might work.

You might also check out whether the incubation medium is too wet. That is the most common reason that mold starts to grow.

Good luck with your eggs.

Paul Hollander