Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a crested gecko egg that showed signs of a crack forming, with some associated wetness, last night. It's now 3 PM the next day, and it still looks like there's a crack, but it hasn't hatched yet. How long does it take for the baby gecko to come out? Does the fact that it hasn't emerged yet mean there's a problem? Should I try to "help" it?

it can take anywhere from 55-85 or more days for them to hatch depending on incubating temp, moisture, and how healthy the female is prior to laying the eggs.
i incubate at 74 degrees and mine always hatch between 69-72 days.
sometimes about 2 weeks before they will hatch some stretch marks will appear on the bottom side of the egg. it's really up to you if you want to open it, but if it is your females first or second time laying eggs you may expect for them to incubate from 80-90 days.

Thanks for the reply, flamedcrestie...what I was really asking was, once the egg starts to crack, how long does it usually take for the baby to come out? I was worried because the hatching process seems to be taking more than half a day. Maybe if stretch marks come a few days before hatching, the actual emergence can take most of a day? I was concerned the baby might be weak or something.

it's always a possiblity that the baby is too weak to make it out of the egg. i was just trying to emphasize whether or not you were waiting long enough. if there is a noticeable crack down the egg, you will do no harm by opening it up. even if you open an egg 1-7 days before it's supposed to hatch they will usually jump right out of the egg, and just be smaller than they should be.

Thanks for the response...when you say the baby will jump out, is that meant literally? Do I need to do "egg surgery" in an enclosed environment so the baby doesn't pop out and run away, or are they torpid at first? Last night there was still a small hole in the egg, with no further progress toward hatching. If the eggshell's got an opening in it, I'd think it would be necessary to intervene before the egg contents get contaminated with bacterial growth. Of course, if the baby's too weak to get out on its own, this may reduce its "jumping" tendencies, at first.

everytime i've ever opened an egg. i'll cut a slit in one end, and if the gecko is alive you will usually feel it move around suddenly. the egg will then either open further, or it will split on the other and and will literally pop out of the egg. even when you find them in the incubatory sometimes, they will act dead, and when you touch them they will suddenly go crazy shooting all over the place. so i would suggest doing it in a moderately confined area with no open floor vents etc.