Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Numerous times I was ready to throw this clutch of jungle carpet eggs away, I even took them out of the incubator and put them on the shelf. Tonight the one possibly still good egg hatched with a baby jungle.

this female was also with a zebra male, but alas it doesn't look like a zebra, but hasn't come all the way out yet.

Keep that pic, for when people post "will a moldy egg hurt the clutch"?

I think some people get the cause and effect turned around when apparently losing eggs to bacteria or mold. Probably 99% of the time, the egg or embryo dies first and then the bacteria and mold set in giving the impression that the egg was killed by these micro-organisms. The immune system of these eggs is fairly well developed, and most are laid in proximity to ground humus in the natural environment that is loaded with a multitude of mold and bacterial species. Good photo evidence, thanks for posting.

Kelly

Congrats on the survivor. It is amazing that the good eggs can withstand such onslaught from mold. I wonder how much the dam incubating the eggs plays in keeping them free from mold? So, where are you located? Did you have any other potential zebra clutches?
Justin

Here's a picture of the survivor. It has nice parents, so I'll have to keep it to see how it turns out, considering it's beating the odds

I bred the zebra to another female, this jag, but she didn't take. I got him rather late in the season, so maybe next year

I'm in St. Cloud, Minnesota

I use maternal incubation almost exclusively and the eggs that have died under the female look just as bad and do not effect the development of the surrounding fertile eggs to any degree.

Kelly