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I asked this question last week but I don't think I asked it the right way. I didn't get the answer I needed at least. When candling eggs, what do you see that leads you to believe you're looking at an albino or a normal looking baby? Will normals be just a shadow and you can't make out any markings or can you actually see through an egg that well? When I candle mine, I see markings on a few of them and just a dark shadow on others but I can't differentiate enough between the 2 to know what I'm looking at or should be looking for. I thought albinos would probably be transparent but now I'm thinking maybe you could see markings on albinos because of them being lighter and the light contrasting off of them more. I've got 2-3 weeks to go on a clutch from a female that is supposed to be a het but I have no real proof until the eggs hatch cause she has no paperwork and it's getting close to unbearable. If someone can explain, please do. Thanks alot. Ryan.

Hello Ryan,

I've found that on most eggs the pattern is most obvious at about 4-4 1/2 weeks into incubation. At this point the baby seems to be small enough to not fill the entire egg and old enough to have a good, dark color to the melanistic areas. Once the baby fills the egg up more then it is harder to penetrate the egg with light and harder to differentiate between normally patterned and abnormally patterned babies (i.e. Spiders, Pinstripes and Genetic Stripes)

I have noticed that my eggs containing Albinos are very light and look almost "empty". I have never been able to see an Albino's pattern by looking through the egg this way. There should be a noticable difference in the brightness and lightness of the Albino vs. Normal. I would imagine that even an albino can still cast a shadow in the egg but the light seems to be reflected around so the egg looks sort of clear.

I really wish I had some Albinos incubating now so that I could get some photos for you. I'm one of these guys that is always waiting with the scissors for that magical day when I can see what I've won. This method certainly keeps me entertained this time of year!

I hope that helps... or maybe it hurt?

Good luck!! I hope they are all BRIGHT!
-----
Sean Bradley
Owner : EbN
www.ExoticsByNature.com
www.BallPythonMorphs.com
www.CornSnakeMorphs.com

I have 3 out of 7 eggs that appear to not have anything in them at all other than a small dark portion at the bottom of the egg. I was kind of worried that maybe there was nothing developing in these ones although they are fertile and have alot of big red veins. Maybe these will be albinos? I can't make anything out in them at all. But then again, I really have no clue. Guess I'm gonna have to wait 2 and a half more weeks and find out. Dammit. At least I'll know for next time. This is nerve racking but so much fun. I can't wait to do it again next year.