Big veiled eggs

[BocaJan]

These eggs were my 54 batch of eggs laid in December. The eggs are huge, almost as big as those quail eggs in the grocery. As you can see, they barely fit into the plastic shoe box. They all look very healthy so I am getting excited. It will be 2 to 3 months before they hatch so the babies I have now should be in their permanent homes by then.

Has anyone else had eggs this large?

 

[Lizardlover]

all i can say is those are probably going to be large babies cant wait till they hatch.

 

[bigcappa]

Wow congrats Jan, they all look super healthy and I'm going to have to get a female from you so save me one.....

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Were they really big from the start? They swell, of course, but were these eggs noticeably larger when laid?

Eggs incubated at too high a moisture level will swell to large sizes. It's impossible to tell if these are just big eggs, or swollen with water.

At this late time in incubation, if they are overly wet, you'll start to see signs - eggs shrinking rapidly, with lots of babies just dying full term in the egg.

Recheck your moisture levels just to be sure.

 

[BocaJan]

Were they really big from the start? They swell, of course, but were these eggs noticeably larger when laid?

Eggs incubated at too high a moisture level will swell to large sizes. It's impossible to tell if these are just big eggs, or swollen with water.

At this late time in incubation, if they are overly wet, you'll start to see signs - eggs shrinking rapidly, with lots of babies just dying full term in the egg.

Recheck your moisture levels just to be sure.

Thanks for your comments. They were big when born and did swell somewhat. I have been keeping the vermiculite on the dry side rather than the wet side. Since my others did very well I am hoping that these will too. The father is Socrates from Noelle, not Arnie.

 

[kinyonga]

I'm betting they will hatch sooner than you think....just a hunch.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

they had that translucent look of eggs ready to hatch. Like a piece of paper with oil dripped on it.

 

[kinyonga]

Good description..."Like a piece of paper with oil dripped on it"!

 

[BocaJan]

LOL, well it will be 6 months at the end of June. I will keep you posted and have the camera ready.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

If incubated around 80 degrees, I suspect they'll hatch in mid to late July.

By the look of them, I would say they were incubated a bit warmer than that, since they seem close to hatching. I've seen that sort of look on eggs due to hatch in less than a month, sometimes two weeks. But then, I was incubating them at higher temps than I am now. Most of my eggs take 8 months to hatch.

 

[BocaJan]

It stays 75 where the eggs are, never 80. I just checked and the vermiculite was bone dry when I stuck my finger in it. I put a few drops of water around the edges.

I guess they will hatch when they hatch, huh? LOL

 

[PardalisGirl]

Thirty days or less.....

It looks like you should start getting ready in two weeks. I bet they will hatch at around 30 days from now. A few might hatch early though. I've got four clutches of Veiled eggs that are super big too. But I think they just look that way compared to all the Panther eggs I have. Veileds just produce bigger eggs. I remember how shocked I was when I saw my first Veiled eggs last year. They were twice the size of Panther eggs. Boy you are going to have a LOT of hungry little mouths to feed!