Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first clutch of eggs and they all look great except for one. My female ball laid 5 good eggs (all attached in sort of a pyramid-shaped structure) that I placed in a Hovabator, and almost immediately, the one smallest egg on top began to dimple. The dimple has continued to deepen and now after a week the egg is nearly half the size it should be.

I'm wondering if either A) it's just infertile so I shouldn't worry about it, or B) since the egg is on top of the pile it's not touching enough vermiculite, so I should try to cover it as much as I can and raise the humidity.

Since the other 4 eggs are big, plump, and healthy I have just assumed that the top egg is a dud. I candled the eggs and saw big thick red blood vessels in all of them except the top "deflating" egg which was shaped too weird to get an accurate candling.

Should I leave it alone, or try to build up more vermiculite around it?

thanks,
kasey

Thats weird, I have a clutch of 5 eggs and one has indented too but mine is on the bottom of the pyramid, It also has veins. I would probably not worry about it as mine has been like that for about 4 days and not changed now, If you get them too wet they will go mouldy, as long as you have condensation in the box then it should be humid enough. Unless someone knows different?
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You all talk Balls,I talk Royals ;0)
www.alpharoyals.co.uk

Can you post a photo? If the top 'small' egg is an infertile slug we could identify it easily. Having substrate in contact with the eggs is not essential as many herpetoculturists, myself included, have had success without the eggs being in contact with the substrate at all. Since hovabators heat from the top down many times the temperature and the humidity at the top of an egg mass might be different than at the bottom. You might want to make sure the conditions inside the hovabator are as consistent as possible. Good luck!

Brad Ratliff

The top egg is definitely not a slug, the mom originally had 3 slugs (small, yellow, rubbery), but since she had pushed them away and they were not attached to the 5 good eggs, I threw them away.

I left two of the holes on the Hovabator open (taped the other 3) but should I tape them up too? The humidity stays around 70%, is that high enough? I'm terrified that if it goes too high mold will grow! Do infertile eggs normally deflate or stay plump?

thanks,
~Kasey

Kasey,

Try taking some heavy duty aluminum foil and make a tent shape, open on two sides, and place it over the egg clutch. Make sure it doesnt actually touch the eggs however.

I have done this before, and it seems to insulate the eggs from the direct and very dry heat from the element in the top.

Alan

Plug up all the holes. 70% sounds too low, the higher the better. Don't worry about mold, it'll grow anyway, and you can just bleach the incubator afterwards. That's what I did and it worked fine.

Alan's idea sounded like a good one, maybe you could try that?

Good luck!

~jenny
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"The python has, and I fib no fibs,
318 pairs of ribs.
In stating this I place reliance
On a seance with one who died for science
This figure is sworn to and attested,
He counted them while being digested."
~Ogden Nash

jenny.thegreenes.org

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