Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can anyone tell me why eggs begin to mold? I have a friend whose eggs were fine for 4 weeks then she put them onto a different substrate and they began to mold. She said she cut them open and there was a forming beardie but the eggs that began molding were also begining to collapse.

Thanks!
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

Yeah. If they was definaltly fertile eggs then they must have had some contact with bacteria. Either in the old substrate you had or the new stuff you put them in. Either that or you contaminated them when you moved them. Can i just ask what the two substrates were that you used?? This is the most likely cause

Usually eggs begin to mold when the fetus dies. While the dragon is alive the eggshell has antimicrobial properties. When the fetus dies it no longer will secrete antimicrobial substances to the shell surface. Thus fungus can now colonize the egg. This,in my opinion is why eggs begin to mold.
Thanks,
Randy
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AlphaDragonZ
www.AlphaDragonZ.com

That is what I thought. I wonder what wouold cause them to die? Strange that they would live for 4 weeks then just start dieing in the egg....

Thanks for your reply!
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

i am kinda new to this, but from what i have learned so far, moving the eggs is a bad idea if they are fine, leave them where they are....also tell her next time to use vermiculite (availabe at any garden store for a couple bucks), it is holds moisture very well and it does not harbor bacteria. i used vermiculite to incubate the babies i have now and i only had to mist the eggs once about half way through the incubation period..... but anyway what i was saying was that i have heard that moving, turning, jarring or squeazing the eggs can kill the fetus thus creating moldy eggs....