I have had several clutches from two different females develop completely but die before hatching. They were obviously fertile because the eggs doubled in size over the course of a couple of months but then just shrunk and turned moldy after it was time for them to hatch. I opened one of them from two different clutches to find a fully developed gecko inside. They looked like everything developed just right but they just died before hatching. Does anyone know why they would all develop fully but not hatch? They are from two different females but the same male. I do not turn the eggs or disturb them at all accept to open the containers about once a week for gas exchange. Any thought or experiences with this would be greatly appreciated.
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Crested Eggs Not Hatching!!!!
Replies (3)
what is the humidity in the incubator? Also what is the temp? Whenever I had issues hatching these guys out it was usually due to these two issues.
I keep them in one part perilite/ one part water by weight. I read in several places that this was the right amount of water to keep the right humidity level inside the containers. The temp is between 76 and 80 degrees. I did hatch out one clutch in these conditions, but have not had one hatch since. I have lost 4 fertile clutches to this issue thus far. Thanks for the reply and please let me know what you think I can do to improve my chances of hatching these guys. Thanks.
Hi,
It sounds like you are doing a number of things right. I do have a couple of questions for you...
How long did your eggs incubate for the babies you hatched out? At those temps, I'm guessing about 60 days.
Also, when the eggs are determined to be at the point where they are not going to hatch, how many day's since they were layed?
I use perlite as a medium for hatching but vermiculite is fine. I like to have a bit more moisture in my container than you've mentioned. Do you have holes in the containers you are using? If so, you may wish to find containers without holes. Also, I seldom open my containers. They go on a shelf and sit there until the babies hatch. I don't have any issues due to not opening the containers. When the eggs are at a point that you've determined they are not going to hatch, what does the mix feel like? Is it fairly dry? My guess is that the eggs are getting too dry.
Hope this helps.
