Reptile & Amphibian Forums

They should hatch in about 2 weeks from today but I think I have run into a problem that I would like to get solved so the next bach does not run into the same problem.

The problem is Fungis. Or something that starts to grow on the eggs.

I wiped my finger on it at it is some sort of black funges or something. Like I said it should be about 2 more weeks now before they hatch but I am afaried that this fungis is spreading.
I have quit watering the vermiculite and only water a washcloth and bowl that I have in the incabator. TO better explain how I am incabating my Cornsnake eggs let me tell you what I have and what I am useing.

I have a small Hova-Bator with 2 windows on top. I am useing a plastic container with a fold open lid. I used a ice pick to punch 2 dozzen small holes in the top of it. Filled the plastic container half way with Vermiculite and just placed the 5 eggs on top of the slightely moist vermiculite. I added a small bowl on the outside of the eggs plastic container and added water to it. I also got a washcloth that I have to re-soak about ever 2 days. I keep the temp. aroud 80-85*. And now this far into the incabation I have one egg that is geting coverd with this fungis. WHat can I do??????

I have stoped watering the vermiculite and just add water to the water bowl and wash cloth. I felt the vermiculite and it is still slightley moist. I have read many web pages and book and they all counterdict eachother. One says dont get the eggs wet. The other one says to put moist spagem moss over the eggs. But wont that get the eggs wet. Some say I can mist the eggs. But wont that get them wet? hhehehehe )) DAMN!!!! Then when I look at pictures of eggs on the internet I see a cluster of them on one side and just open vermiculite on the other side of the box they have them in. So when I water it, should I water the vermic. near the eggs or do I just need to add water to the vermic away from the eggs and that would be fine.

As you can see I need some help. Can anyone help me? If not for this batch then for my next one. Next year I plan on breading my cornsnakes again and this time add a breeding pare of California and Mountain king snakes.

Any help would be great. PLEASE HELP you can also reach me at nova69hb@yahoo.com

I've never seen fungus grow on a viable egg. Usually once fungus starts to grow on an egg, within a few days it wil start to turn yellowish-brown and cave in. That means that either the egg was infertile to begin with, or the embryo died. What I usually do with eggs the start to look abnormal after incubating for a while is to move them to a deli cup or something with some vermiculite in it and incubate it separately until it's obvious the egg is really dead.

I have good success incubating colubrid eggs half-buried in slightly damp vermiculite. I start with a 1:1 ratio of vermiculite to water, by weight. I have found that I do better to err slightly on the dry side rather than have the eggs too wet. I just occasionally mist the vermiculite with a spray bottle of water to keep a little moisture in it. If I mist the eggs a little, I don't worry about it but don't soak them or spray them directly. If you see moisture accumulating on the sides or top of the container, it's too wet. I don't use an incubator for colubrid eggs. I just incubate them in a Sterilite shoebox on a shelf that stays within acceptable temperature range (75 to 85 degrees F.). I don't put holes in the shoebox, but I open it for a few minutes every day or so to allow air exchange. I normally have close to 100% hatch rate like this, assuming fertile eggs.

Fertile colubrid eggs are generally very resilient and can withstand a fairly wide variance in temperature and humidity. After all, in the wild they probably experience wide fluctuation in temperatures, get soaked from rain, and everything else...yet most of them still hatch successfully.