Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Southern Al laid 3 eggs and it's been almost 3 weeks now. One got moldy so I took it out, the other two are now a light yellowish color. I've heard that means they are no good, but I have candled them and seen veins and a little pink body. Also, they still seem to be getting a little bigger and there is no foul smell or mold, otherwise they seem fine. is this OK? Also, I have them in an incubator in a container. Right now the container doesn't have any holes in it, should there be? Thanks
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~Julie~

They didnt just turn yellow, they've been yellow for almost a week and a half. Thanks again!
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~Julie~

Please look down in the forum for my post regarding yellow or bad eggs. I have not heard otherwise so I will asume I hit the nail on the head as far as this topic gose.
RR

Are the eggs still firm? If the eggs are firm, they are probably still viable.

I would recommend against disturbing them (candling etc) any further. If they are bad, they'll mold like the first one, but if they're still viable the embryo could be inadvertently killed if handled. Sometimes poorly calcified viable eggs will appear yellowish due to the thin shell, so you may want to increase the amount of calcium in your female's diet if you suspect this to be the case.

Alligator lizard eggs incubated at room temperature (low to mid 70's) take about 2 months to hatch so be patient.

I keep my eggs in an closed container as well. Cracking the lid weekly to check on the eggs will provide sufficient ventilation.

Good luck!
Alice

Someone on here said that they should be incubated at 80, so I've been doing that, they seem fine. If I change it to 70 or so, would it hurt the egg? They're in an incubator since I'm having construction done on my housr and there are a lot of little drafts so the temp changes a lot. The Southern Al that I got the eggs from were WC, I didn't even know she was gravid until she laid them. But I've let her go since then, I couldn't bear her goign from a whole world to a ten gallon tank. Thanks!
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~Julie~

I've always incubated my eggs at room temperature figuring that since my lizards came from my yard that this would most closely approximate natural conditions. I have no idea how a constant temperature of 80 would affect them.

If you do decide to lower the temperature do so very gradually, maybe a degree or so every other day as dramatic temperature swings could lead to death and deformities. Or, you can just leave the temperature as is and see what happens (this may be the safer option).

-Alice