78-5=73 eggs...

[Julirs]

I checked my eggs today, and 5 had shriveled and molded. They were laid on the 19th of this month.

Do the eggs start to take on a different appearance as they inubate? Do they change colors? I have heard they grow and swell as time goes on, so does that mean they take on a softer appearance rather than their white hard shelled inital look? Is there a time when you stop finding moldy ones?

There is no condensation on the inside of the container, so all seems well there, and I have to imagine there is no way all 78 could have been fertile.

 

[Julirs]

Picture of eggs today...

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Just make sure your hatching medium retains some moisture so the eggs dont dry out.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I've destroyed my share of eggs , so this advice is from experience only.

I had a bad habit of overhydrating my eggs. It resulted in drowned eggs and over blown eggs. It also caused a lot of mold. It looks like you are using the very fine vermiculite. I used that in the beginning and it was a big contributor to over hydration of my eggs. I switched to the chunky kind, which allows more air on the underside of the egg , and this , along with less water in the incubating medium, solved a large majority of my problems.

BTW, most of these corrections to my method, were due to friends, Brandy, Daniel and Trace , being kind enough to set me straight.

Also , some keepers have stated that sprinkling small amounts of foot powder around the eggs has helped stop mold.

But keep in mind, you dont want to disturb the eggs orientation , once they are settled . Turning them, will possibly kill them.

 

[Julirs]

I wondered about the fine vermiculite-but was all that I found near here and no one had told me to avoid it. I beleive it is not over-wet-as I can squeeze it and no water comes out but my fingers will be slightly wet. I had put a couple of pin holes in the top of the container that I had taped up, but I removed the tape today to slightly increase air flow. I have not disturbed egg orientation since they were laid. My gut instinct is telling me they could be a little too moist, but like I said-with 78 eggs some are bound to die off.

 

[kinyonga]

Julirs said..."Do the eggs start to take on a different appearance as they inubate? Do they change colors? I have heard they grow and swell as time goes on, so does that mean they take on a softer appearance rather than their white hard shelled inital look??"...they do swell/grow as the incubate. As they near the end they change color/get "windows" (areas that look more translucent) in them. At the very end (last week or so) they will usually shrink, dent, have windows....although I have had some that don't and they still hatch. Then, finally they should slit at one end and the baby will stick its head out. (There are some that don't have the head right out of the shell too.) The baby will lay there appearing to be dead. They are absorbing the rest of the yolk and will come out when they are done. It can take a couple of hours...or it can take a couple of days.

Like cham_man, I don't use the fine vermiculite....but for me it was because it dried out unevenly. I also found it hard to keep it moist without it becoming soggy.

Hopefully no more will mold or die on you and in a few months you will have a LOT of babies!

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Hey Juli,

The eggs are looking good. Too bad you didn't take a pic of all of them before you took the ones out that went bad. I would have liked to see the comparison so I know what to look for. I'll let you know when mine start hatching - STILL MONTHS AWAY - as yours should start hatching shortly after.

Dyesub Dave.

 

[Julirs]

Oh-no need to take a pic-they were fuzzy and 3 of them were shriveled. I suspect that those were the ones that were tiny compared to the others. I took a plastic spoon and scooped them out with the vermiculite around them.