I went out of town for a 3 day training seminar last week. When I returned last Thursday night, I found one of my eggs growing mold. I guess I made it a little too moist to compensate for not being able to check on them for 3 days. I've been wiping it down with a q-tip dipped in hydrogen peroxide every other day since then. Everytime I check on it, the mold is getting stronger and growing in a larger area. The other 6 are totally healthy for now but I'm having my doubts about this one pulling through. This is only day 19. I have at least 5 weeks left. Has anyone else ever been able to get an egg in this condition to hatch alive? Should I keep working to save it (which I will anyway until there's absolutely no chance) or should I just expect that it's gonna succumb to the mold and die soon or at the very least the baby will die inside the breached egg shell? This is my first ball clutch ever. I knew something had to go wrong at least a little bit. Any comments, advice, anything, is greatly appreciated. Thanks alot. Ryan.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
Is there realistically any hope of this molding egg hatching?
Replies (11)
.
Probably TOO close up.
.
pics are blurred...
but it looks fat yet........
it may grow a scab inside to protect itself from the mold / fungus......
keep whiping it dry ......tissue...paper towel.
use desinex foot powder to kill fungus on it..dry.
whipe every couple days.......
-----
.................
...but first try gently bloting the area with a folded up paper towel wetted down with a 1:10 dilution of Clorox...this'll reduce the fungal spore load...then try adding a light sprinkling of antifungal powder to the site...the 'scab' that jyohe mentions is a sort of "walling-off" of the area from inside the egg, a good thing, and the egg goes on to hatch...
sjm
If you can separate the egg move it to a dryer container and treat it separately so as not to expose the other eggs to the extra movement, draft, and chemicals when you treat this one.
Actually first, if you have a good flashlight try candling it. I've been surprised to find that some infertile eggs will go as long as yours before molding up. If it wasn't alive to start with then it's sure not worth risking the others over.
I had a similar situation a couple of years ago before I started candling and based on what I've learned since I suspect that the eggs I pulled my hair out over where never even fertile. The real bummer is that I didn't even think to separate them before treating and ended up with two kinked albinos and I can't rule the anti fungus powder out as the cause which is a real bummer since it may have been all for nothing with eggs that where never good to start with.
....potential toxicity to the embryo...
sjm
>>...but first try gently bloting the area with a folded up paper towel wetted down with a 1:10 dilution of Clorox...this'll reduce the fungal spore load...then try adding a light sprinkling of antifungal powder to the site...the 'scab' that jyohe mentions is a sort of "walling-off" of the area from inside the egg, a good thing, and the egg goes on to hatch...
>>
>>sjm
What do you think about an extremely light coating of 1% clotrimazole cream. It is a relatively broad spectrum antifungal and should stay located to just the egg you put it on. However, will all antifungals, they are relatively toxic, so treating with any of these should be a last resort for a developing embryo.
...too much chance of absorbing the cotrimazole or other antifungal...they are toxic to embryos, just HOW MUCH SO is not known...sjm
I had an egg do the same - substrate was too wet where that egg was. I wiped it off the egg with just a plain paper towel, although, I'd listen to Scott on the Clorox. Then you might try putting some dry vermiculite around that egg - just on the sides and bottom.
-----
Jay A. Martin
Generally if your egg is turning green/blue your embryo is dead. Eggs have a natural immune system as long as the embryo is alive, when the embryo dies the egg starts to die and mold as well. That is why, generally, other good eggs are not effected by one egg going bad. They are still alive and the immune system is still intact. Its always nice to try to seperate it if youd like and put it somewhere else to see if it will hatch but chances are it wont. Now mold/fuzz growing on top is different you can wipe that off and do other things but if your egg is turning colors its safe to say theres nothing living in there anymore.
