Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay~ I've got 4 clutches down right now. I've been very disappointed with 3 of the clutches. They promptly rotted. Being as I had space in the incubators~ and I'm trying this whole optimist thing~ I let them stay in the incubators.

Today is day 58 for the first clutch and something is happening. But I'm not sure WHAT? I looked this morning and one of the moldy, gross, brown, hairy, shrunken (Shrunken for the entire incubation process) eggs has a drop of clear fluid on it. Since then, two more gross eggs have drops of clear fluid.

So~ are the eggs hatching?
Are they hatching corn snakes or some gross bug that has been living in that egg and enjoying the nice temps and humidity for two months?

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Cheryl Marchek
AKA JM
Check out my website at:
The Red Dragons Den

Umm...most likely, there is not a baby corn in there. But if you still want to be optimistic, leave it in there, then wait and see in a while. You never know for sure! But the odds are WAY against you. Tell me what happens!

From the looks of it, those eggs are dead. That's most likely condensation from the humidity in the enclosure or perhaps some fluid from a rupture in the egg.

I have to admit though, I'd stay optomistic. I had six eggs from a yearling corn this year that I was almost positive were infertile. Just for kicks and giggles, I put them in an incubator with my clutch of snow corn eggs and kept them warm, just to see what'd happen. Two of the eggs ended up looking like yours and were obviously dead.

But, I noticed four of them today have the tell tale slits of an egg tooth at work. And this evening I saw four small heads poking out. From the looks of it I have two anery's and two normals het for ghost in there....

Just goes to show, you never know what optomism can get ya. Good luck with the eggs.

Dave

Mold on the egg does not kill an egg, I would guess that they are pipping through and hatching. Clear fluid is a good sign that the inside of the egg is still good. I would try and use a damp cloth to wipe away some of the mold and maybe a bit more ventilation is needed inside the incubator to prevent the mold. This is one of the reasons that I use sphagnum moss. The acid levels are a bit higher and help prevent mold growth better then vermiculite or perlite.
Good Luck and let us know what develops
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

the clear liquid could just be condensation from the humidity.
Demon