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I think i fried my eggs......

xxcolbYxx Jun 02, 2004 05:30 PM

I came back home to find the mistake that i have made. Not knowing any info ahead of time, i figured that putting a heat lamp over the side of the eggs would be a good thing. I came back home to find a clutch of shrivled up eggs =( I assumed they were toast. This was after i learned at school that the eggs are kept at around 70 degress F...I guess i have learned from my mistakes. =|

Replies (9)

aliceinwl Jun 02, 2004 06:55 PM

They probably are fried. Alligator lizard eggs need to be kept damp or they will shrivle up like raisins. If your eggs still feel pliable / soft you may be able to save them. Buy some vermiculite (available at the garden section of stores like OSH and Walmart, but make sure it doesn't have fertilizer added). Then measure out a 1:1 ratio of vermiculite and water by weight. A cheap postage scale such as those available at Office Depot will work well for weighing. Fill a tupperware or some other small container with an air tight lid about 2/3rds full of this mixtute. Then bury the eggs about 2/3rds of the way. When transfering the eggs be careful not to flip them as this can drown the embryo. Open the lid weekly for air exchange. Room temperature (70s) works fine for incubating. I once found a shrivled egg when I dug up a gopher hole. It took a few weeks, but it gradually plumped back up and a little al hatched out a couple of months later so it doesn't hurt to try.

Good luck!
Alice

xxcolbYxx Jun 02, 2004 07:06 PM

Okay, my dad is too lazy to go and get some vermiculite, or peat moss. Is there ANY OTHER way to replump them back up? I already poured water over the eggs and they seem to be getting plumped back up. Am i in a danger zone right now? Is this critical? Would leaving the eggs in the bark substrate and misting the eggs constantly work too?

xxcolbYxx Jun 02, 2004 10:19 PM

Okay, since nobody answered my question, and my parents wouldn't go out and get some vermiculite, i had to take maters into my own hands. I really had no clue if they were still alive or not, but the eggs did feel soft. I shreded up loads of paper towels to try and make a "nest" for them. I knew they were dehydrated, so i misted the container, then used an airtight lid.

aliceinwl Jun 02, 2004 10:40 PM

Take a minute and calm down

Try not to get the eggs wet (don't pour water on them) if the embryo inside is still alive, it needs to breath. Getting the eggs wet will drown it. As a temporary fix if you have bark chips or some kind of soil with no fertilizers etc get that damp (not wet) and place the eggs buried 2/3rds of the way in it.

Since, I think that I read in your previous post, you have bark (sphagnum moss or sphagnum peat moss would be even better); take some and bake it in your oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes this will sterilize it. Sterilizing the substrate will kill bacteria and fungus that may be present. Let the substrate cool down to room temperature and moisten it and move the eggs to this substrate and set it up as I described before.

Vermiculite is really the best substrate since it holds moisture well, so work on your parents.

Even if the eggs are alive it will take them several weeks to plump back up. Getting them too wet will cause them to take on lots of water very fast and drown the embryo. Placing them in a damp environment will allow them to recover their moisture gradually without drowning the embryo. After handling the substrate your hands should feel damp but not be wet. It's fairly common for people to over do the water.

Good luck!
Alice

xxcolbYxx Jun 02, 2004 11:11 PM

Okay, thanks so much for that info. I will probably never get any of the recommened subtrate since after my dad seeing that the eggs shriveled up, he doesn'tthink there is anymore chance left in em. I placed the eggs in a container, just like as described. Are the eggs suppose to be soft? While i was trying gently to put the eggs in the container, there are little indentation marks of where i picked up the eggs. Are they still okay?

aliceinwl Jun 03, 2004 04:09 PM

The eggs may be soft because they are dehydrated. If this is the case, they should firm up over the next few weeks. There is also the chance that the eggs are duds and were not fertile to begin with. Dud eggs are soft and flacid, kind of like underinflated water balloons. To see if your eggs are fertile, get a pen light or the smallest flash light you can find and hold one of your eggs up to it. By carefully rotating it you should see a small red circle or red blood vessels in at least one part of the egg. If the egg glows yellow and no vessels are visible it's probably a dud or was fried before the embryo could begin development. Even if you determine the egg is a dud, place it back in the incubation container. There is a chance you missed the vessels. I don't throw out eggs until they start to mold.
-Alice

epidemic Jun 17, 2004 10:27 AM

Well, I am certain they were lost when they collapsed on you. However, they are certainly lost, if you saturated them with water.
Next time, if you do not have any of the previously mentioned incubation substrates, try using a slightly damp, not saturated, cloth. Simply place the cloth within a container, place the eggs on top of one side and fold the other over the top and add a small, shallow container of water inside the box. Keep the eggs in a place where the temperature maintains a range of 70-75F. I like to use a shelf in my reptile room, though a shelf in any quiet area should suffice.
The key is to keep the eggs relatively dry, while maintaining a relatively moderate level of humidity.

Good luck in the future.

xxcolbYxx Jun 17, 2004 04:26 PM

Well, thanks for all your help guys. They are totally toast. Every single one had icky mold growing on them. Too bad i couldnt of researched sooner. Do female alligator lizards ALWAYS lay eggs? or only when they have finished mating?

aliceinwl Jun 22, 2004 12:48 AM

In my experience, females will usually lay eggs regardless of whether or not they have mated. Of course if they haven't mated, the eggs will be duds.
-Alice

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