Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Its day 72, only a couple of eggs have collapsed, but nothing has slit the shell, i got worried so i slit an egg open and removed a dragon, it seemed to be fully developed and had some yolk still remaining, i was worried about respiration rates through the shell so i lowered the temp in the incubator to 84, from 86... what else can i do, i realize that by removing the dragon that it will die, but i think that if i loose one to find out the problem to save 24 more... than it will be worth it..

ps. this is the females first clutch, and its not hatching...

please help, thanks

Give it time, they will come, 72 days is well within range. Whatever you do, do NOT slit any more open. What did you think you were going to find anyway?

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

What will you learn by loosing the one??? It's not going to teach you anything or give you a reason.
Just be patient! I know it's hard.
Also keep in mind, even when they do slit the egg, it can still take a day or two after that, before they come completely out.

Good luck.
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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

Last year my females first clutch didn't start hatching until day 78!

Im sorry, i made an error, this was day 79 today...

i wasnt sure what i was expecting to find, this is my first clutch of eggs, i guess i was wondering about fertility first.. but your wrong, theres alot of things you can learn from opening an egg... you can check the yolk reserves, to determine if they still have enough food left, you can check for development of appendages, and you can also check respiration rates through the shell, my incubator rose one day past 93 degrees, it is possible that the excess temperature could cause limited oxygen to perforate the egg shell and kill the embryo... and im sure theres alot more that a small hobbyist like me doesnt even know about...

thanks for all the help