Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In the first batch of 2 eggs one was white and one stayed pinkish in color,the white one hatched prematurly and died.The second batch of 4 eggs 1 stayed pinkish and the other 3 turned white. my question is,Are the pinkish colored eggs fertile,or the color change has nothing to do with being fertile or not? When I look at the 1 egg that is left from the first batch that was laid 48 days ago it doesn't look like there is an embryo in it.The second batch is to early to tell,they were laid 17 days ago.Thanks jason mills

Well the second egg from the first batch busted today and it doesn't look like it was fertile.I have three white eggs and one clear pinkish colored one from the second batch,so I believe that atleast 3 are fertile.I think the first egg busted because I had to much moistur,I poked a hole in the bottom of the container and water poured out I hope I didn't ruin the chance of a successful hatch on the eggs from the second batch.

Jason,
The only time I noticed any difference in color between fertile eggs and infertile eggs, was with a clutch from one female: the ones that turned out not to be fertile were slightly yellow-ish after a few weeks. I won't use that as an indicator though, simply because I don't think its 100% reliable.
I hope you have better luck with the others.
Stephanie

Hi,
In my experience egg color has nothing to do with wether they are fertile or not. I have had eggs that were all caved in and very black/brown in color hatch out perfect babies. The only time I give up on the eggs is if they cave in and start to mold. Good luck

Thanks,I hope the others hatch I put holes in the bottom of the container and removed the bowl of water from the incubator .I hope the verlicumite dries out a bit,if it doesn't was wondering if mabey I should set up another container with less moisture and transfer the eggs or if it will dry out on it's own. Thanks jason mills

jason, I read the messages above and have some comments. My female laid three clutches this year all 30 day apart the first three never developed properly because of a terrential downpour in jersey the day they were laid. Those ones were yellowish white in color. The second batch of three are developing well and are whitter. However I don't think the color has anything to do with it. Here are a few tips. If you want to see if the eggs are fertile and developing take the eggs into a dark room. Get a flashlight and shine it on the eggs. You should be able to see veins this is a good sign. If you can't see the veins that way you can carefully pick them up don't shake or rotate but shine the light under them you should see red spider veins. Also place a moist rag over the eggs instead of water logging the vermiculite. Hope this helps

Thanks for all the tips,I still don't know if I should change the vermiculite,or if it will dry out on its own.I uncovered the eggs and just have them sitting on top now with no cover until I see if it dries a little is this a good idea,I'm new at this and want to get it right.I hope it's not to late to correct the moisture problem.I looked at them with a flashlight and I can see the liitle red veins in 3 of the eggs,the fourth it's hard to tell because the shell is more pinkish in color than the others.The 2 eggs from the first clutch one hatched prematurly and the other calapsed with nothing in it.I think it was because I had the vermiculite to wet.Once again Thank's for all the support.

Jason, the vermiculite will dry out on its own, but you still want to prevent it from drying completely. My feeling is that, at this stage, its better not to try to move the eggs.

It may take you some time to work out a balance, and to develop a good method for distinguishing "wet" from "moist" when it comes to gauging humidity levels in vermiculite.
When dry, vermiculite does not really stick together. When moistened, it sticks together in little clumps, and also sticks to fingers. When its too wet, it exceeds its capacity for holding water, so it will drip (or'sweat'), or, if in a container, water will collect in the bottom of the container.

If you haven't already, try experimenting with a little and see if you can get a feel for how it behaves. I have found that my finger is a reliable moisture gauge.
Good luck
Stephanie

Thanks for all the help I think I got the moisture under control I hope in a month or so to post pictures of the new babies,once again Thanks jason mills