Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A beginner's question, perhaps, but I do need some help. Can you tell after eggs are laid whether or not they are fertile? My small colony is laying now. Most eggs look the same and go into my new incubator. Can you determine fertility by sight? Tks,

We have candled ours to make sure they are fertile. From what I understand there will be a pink or red glow in the egg if they are fertile.

What does candled mean?

Putting a bright light next to the egg and shining it through to "light" the interior. With most eggs, you look for a pink or red center point -- an indication of a healthy critter. The term "candling" refers to the old farm habit of holding a candle next to the egg. I've heard of it used for larger snake eggs, but not gecko eggs.

Thanks, Spike. Assume you use a powerful flashight -- right? These should be fertile, but last year I lost a lot of eggs.

What we do is turn the lights out and put the flashlight under the eggs. Hope this helps.