Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a clutch of eggs that are 73 days old. The clutches ive had before took only sixty something. It has been cooler though. I was looking at the eggs and they have some light brown stuff on them. They also have little cracks. They look like stretch marks. I have been guessing on the moisture levels and just pour in a couple drops every two or three days. It is pretty wet in there now. I left the lid off for a few hours to let some of the water evaporate. I have heard about people cutting the eggs open after the eggs are a week or so over due. Id appreciate anyones advice.

i'd let the eggs go until atleast 80 days. if it's " wet" in there like you say it is, you may want to sprinkle a little dry bedding material of whatever you're using on the wet stuff to absorb some of the moisture. if it's too wet in there it will definitely drown the babies.

Do you have any idea what the stretch mark looking things are.

exactly what you say they are, in some cases, i've weighed my eggs almost tripling in weight over the 70 days it usually takes for them to hatch, in order for them to expand that much, they often leave stretch marks on the bottom side of the egg ( the part touching the substrate)

i'd just like to add that my crested eggs usually show really noticeable stretch marks within about a week of when theyll hatch, give or take.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

Ok ,

Eggs hatch BETWEEN 60 and 90 DAYS ...73 days your geckos are NOT overdue.

There are many factors affecting hatching ..temp being a major one.The cooler it is the longer it takes.It is COOLER being the fall.

If you slit open the egg and manage to not injure the crested while doing so theres a very good chance you will find a underdeveloped lizard that will soon die.Because you did it.

If for some reason it has developed but was unable to hatch itself theres a pretty good chance are it will be a runt..sickly and die young anyhow. Nature has a way of handling such things.

The strech marks occur as the egg gets closer to hatching. It also can occur if the egg swells from too much water ..in which case its TOO late to save the baby.

The media if it is vermiculite should be wet enough that water comes out if you squeeze it but not so wet it can drain out on its own if you were too put it in a strainer.

The more often you handle the egg the more often you move the egg the more often you get water on the egg the more likely you are cause mold to grow on the egg. I have heard but am not entirely convinced that turning the egg different from the way it is developing can kill the baby.I dont risk it.

The best possible thing you can do is leave the eggs alone in damp vermiculite in suggested temps and be patient. Cresteds have been hatching for thousands of years without our help.

Dont mean to sound harsh ..just trying to help you increase your chances of sucessful hatches

Thanks for the advice. I didnt know that handling the egg increased the chances of mold growth. I have been looking at them a lot lately since I am a little worried. I also did not know that it could take up to 90 days to hatch. You are right about turning the eggs. They have like a fluid sac that attaches to the wall of the egg. If it flips over it kills the baby. Chicken eggs can be flipped because this sac does not attach to the inside of the egg.

When I used to hatch eggs at room temps, one winter the eggs were taking 4-4.5 months to hatch! (Cold house!) The few times I got antsy and opened eggs, I always regretted it, but that's just me.
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Terri
7:12:15 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Pouncer, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randi, May Queen (from Randy May,trying to find out her REAL name), Stunner, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, and 5 unnamed hatchlings.