Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my female finally laid her eggs last night and I found them when I woke up this morning. However, instead of using the moist vermiculite hide box I had set up she let them loose in the water bowl! When I woke up she was sitting in the bown with the two eggs in the water!I have heard of this before but its never happened to me. My question is... are the eggs still okay? They were REALLY soft when I put them into the incubator. Did they drown overnight? They were almost like jello when I took them out of the waterbowl. Let me know if any of you have had experience with this.
Also, do you ever feel bad taking the eggs away from the mom? This morning it took me a couple minutes to get her off of them and after I took them out and put them in the incubator she was running all over the tub looking for them. I had to go to school but I could picture her running all over all day looking for her eggs. Oh well, I dont think they would have lasted long in the water anyways. Any advice??

I don't have any experience with the water bowl, but yes, the first time one of my females laid eggs, I took them from her too early, so she spent a long time looking for them. I felt HORRIBLE. So I make sure to let them take their time, catch their breath, and finish burying their eggs. Even then, they kind of hang around and keep an eye on the humide hide, so I still feel bad when they go check things out after I've removed the eggs. I can understand why you had to save the eggs from the water bowl though.
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Lovin' would be easy if your colors were like my dreams...

I was just wondering if anyone else has had females lay their eggs in the water bowl before? Were they okay in the end or can they drown?

Joe

If you found them quick they might pull through, but I don't want to give you any false hope. They most certainly can drown, although at this stage of development I don't know if "become oversaturated" is a better phrase.

Best of luck. In the future you might want to take the water bowl out if you're expecting eggs. As long as you're feeding well hydrated insects you shouldn't have any problems without the bowl in there.
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If they have gone bad, will they turn brownish and shrivel up like infertile eggs? They are still bright white and have turned harder since this morning. Thanks

Joe

I have had some experience with this, I can think of two occasions when my girls laid a clutch of eggs in their water dish. It was a big surprise to me also, but I did my best to save them. None of the four eggs ended up hatching, but they never became firm as you described. I wouldn’t give up on them yet. Make sure her hide box is well misted next time; she should lay again in two weeks or so. Like E2Mac said, it might be best to remove her water dish, when she becomes restless, and starts digging everywhere. Good luck, and let us know if you have anymore questions.