Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 02 virgin desert king layed 7 eggs on 4-16,4 were dark colered and 3 were white.the dark ones have slowly wrinkled and i guess there slugs.of the 3 white ones they were full looking until today,one is starting to wrinkle.i mixed the vermiculite and water 1:1 by weight.i check them 2-3 times a week,then mist them.the container there in forms water drops on the inside lid.i can;t believe there too dry.my temps have been 79.5-80 degrees.could they be too moist?

Ummmmmmm, if she's a virgin, don't you suppose the possibility is high that the eggs may be infertile?
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GratefulFred

she was definately ovulating when she was with the proven male,i witnessed several copulations,some up to three hours long.?????

Cool!
Then she really is not a virgin after all.
There is a chance that the eggs may be too wet in there. Watch for signs of mold, but dented eggs are not always bad eggs. Most often I think they tend to dent a week or two before hatching (in my experience, anyway) but sometimes some real funky looking eggs can be perfectly good. I wouldn't give up on them yet!
Good luck with them!
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GratefulFred

i meant this is her first clutch of eggs.thanks for the help.

As Fred pointed out, you can definitely have them too wet. You are better off to err a little on the dry side than to have them too wet. 1:1 by weight is a good starting point. If you are forming droplets of condensation on the top of the container, I would venture to guess that your water:vermiculite ratio has changed dramatically. At 1:1, you shouldn't have that unless they are way too warm and you are evaporating all the water from the vermiculite. The temperatures you mentioned are OK for colubrid eggs....maybe just a tiny bit on the cool side. That's fine. Don't let them drop below 75 deg F. or get above 85 deg F. for any length of time.

I've never seen mold grow on a fertile egg. I have seen some awfully ugly wrinkled, misshapen eggs hatch out some beautiful babies, though.

What you have to remember is that, in addition to being maintained at acceptable temperature and humitidy levels, snake eggs have to be able to exchange gasses and fluids with the outside environment. The part of the egg that is in contact with the hatching medium is where fluids will exchange. Water and waste fluids will be transported through the shell and into and out of the medium. The part of the egg that is not in contact with the medium is where gasses will exchange. The gasses will pass through the pores of the shell. If those pores are full of water, gas cannot pass through and the embryo will die. This gas exchange is also why it is important to allow a full exchange of air in the container every couple of days. If the air is allowed to remain stagnant too long, excess waste gasses from the eggs will build up and a good oxygen exchange will be inhibited.

thanks a million,i'm making adjustments per your advice.i moved the white eggs in perlite 1:1 water by weight.i need to get this working smooth,one of my hondos started her pre-lay shed today.