Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new to kingsnake breeding and my cal. king just laid 9 eggs under the vermiculite dish. It was probably a few days before I got to them and they are an ugly bunch - few look like I would expect them to. Color seems fine, but most look a little sunken here or there, or have a pinched up looking crease. They are not plumping up to a healthy cylindrical after a few days in the moist vermiculite container. Is it possible they are still good? Is this normal?

And then there is the fuzzy egg. It's got a little spot of white fuzzy mold. Assuming this egg is bad, and some of the others have a chance, how do I remove this egg from the center of the stuck together clutch?

Yeah, eventually that bad egg will turn orange and slime away.

Believe it or not - if your other eggs are still good - they should not be affected at all.

I have had eggs start to sink in and I raised the humidity. After several days they will "pop" back out; so don't give up hope yet.

Can you post any pics of the clutch???
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Peter Jolles
East Coast Colubrids
www.eastcoastcolubrids.com
peterjolles@eastcoastcolubrids.com

Think about what happens in the wild. Is there a dedicated breeder to remove the egg from the middle of the clutch?

If a bad egg is on the inside of the clutch you risk damaging/killing the good eggs so just let it be. I've had plenty of experience with BAD eggs from young females and I feel that good eggs for the most part remain good and bad eggs well they're bad.

Bob Bull

Thanks for the hope and advice. I'll try boosting the humidity and leavin' the funky egg run its runny course. I'll let you know how they turn out.