This season I bred my 06 0.1 jungle carpet to my 07 1.0 Junglot(NERD)carpet. The female laid a clutch of 17 eggs exactly 30 days after her prelay shed, 3-29-09. Two of the eggs were kicked out and were slugs. I uncoiled the female and the eggs were stuck together forming two groups. I incubated 15 eggs but a few of them looked a little rough, yellow and blue. I checked up on the eggs yesterday and two smelled very bad and were oozing on the sides. I was able to peel the first two apart and removed them from the clutch and discarded them. I candled the eggs and found a few that didn't have veins. I checked them again this afternoon and found that two of the eggs without veins are going bad. I realize that there is a chance of slugs and or unfertilized eggs in a clutch. Is there any way that I can remove these smelly eggs without affecting the good eggs that they are stuck to? The rest of the eggs look very healthy. The eggs are in a 2/1 mix of vermiculate and perilite with water added to weight(volume). They are currently at 88.7 degrees and 80% humidity. I also have three clutches of cinnamon pastel eggs and a clutch of bredli's that should be here in about 40 days.
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Egg question
Replies (2)
Unless a fertile egg is completely surrounded by decomposing ones, these bad eggs will not hurt the viability of the fertile eggs. I use maternal incubation with all my pythons and have had many clutches where decomposing eggs were in contact with good eggs for the entire incubation period. I have only lost fertile eggs on one occasion were I would attribute the loss to this issue. In that case, over half the clutch was infertile and a few of the fertile eggs were lost, but most still made it. The immune system of a viable egg is fairly well developed and contact with a decomposing egg is very rarely an issue.
Kelly
Kelly is correct. I use an incubator, but eggs sitting next to, or stuck to, do not contaminate healthy eggs. You might want to pick up a copy of Ross's book on breeding boas and pythons. It's older, but the info is still current and show's many eggs that were in the same situation.
