Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I posted earlier asking for advice about eggs starting to mold close to the due date. Today, the eggs are due to hatch, and I took two of the nastiest looking eggs possible to check out. Both contained a huge hard sac which enveloped an almost fully formed dead embryo. I am very worried about the remaining eggs that have not molded yet, and I don't know whether they are living or not.

What would cause an embryo to die so far in development? My only thought is that the temperatures fluctuated too rapidly, but I was never witness to this. I have a Snake Shack refrigerator style incubator with a helix set to 89 degrees. I also have a digital temperature reader inside the incubator. Although the helix did read 91 before, I haven't seen it read any higher. ARG....this is a terrible season so far! We have had our boa slug out, one of our 8 balls slug out (the rest...nothing), and then had a huge beautiful clutch of childrens we were very optimistic. Although, I shouldn't complain...we have had some success....my husband and I are expecting a son in December!

Any suggestions in regards to the childrens would be greatly appreciated!
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

There are many possible explanations to why they died so far into incubation, but it is hard to tell from this side of the WWW. A picture might help us diagnose. How close to hatching are they? You may slit the remaining eggs close to the due date to see how the others are progressing. Good luck and congrats on the baby! We have 5 and it is a blast!
Justin
AAR

I agree. There are so many possibilites, none related to anything you can or could do. Sometimes stuff just happens.

Thanks, I will definitely get some pictures for you guys. It is very frustrating to see a clutch go bad
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

I'm curious as to how this turned out. Did you loose the clutch?

This reminds me of something I read awhile ago on a BP site, it sounds exactly what is happening here. Hope this helps.

[url]http://royalgemreptiles.com/news.html[url]

oops

royalgemreptiles.com/news.html

Hi,

Sorry for not updating you guys, but yes, I did lose the entire clutch. When I opened the eggs, about 3/4 were inside a hardened yolk "casing", and pretty small with some pigmentation. The other 1/4 had less yolk, more pigment and were quite a bit larger.

The link that you sent me....exactly like what happened. In fact, the yolk "casing" I mentioned is exactly like the picture that is posted!

I wish I knew if mold was the culprit, or if it was something else!
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids