Eggs absorbing moisture.

[Joseph 1233]

I was wondering as it seems most of my eggs that are fertile are showing more pink and less white and almost have a transparent look I'm thinking that I must have added too much water to my vermiculite and they absorbed a bunch and I'm now worried they may have become too rubbery to hatch easily and was wondering what my best option would be at this point. the eggs are In tupper ware containers with lids and a small air hole almost 1/4 inch around witch hasn't seemed to help with the moisture. Eggs are 4 months old.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

I was wondering as it seems most of my eggs that are fertile are showing more pink and less white and almost have a transparent look I'm thinking that I must have added too much water to my vermiculite and they absorbed a bunch and I'm now worried they may have become too rubbery to hatch easily and was wondering what my best option would be at this point. the eggs are In tupper ware containers with lids and a small air hole almost 1/4 inch around witch hasn't seemed to help with the moisture. Eggs are 4 months old.

Pictures please.

 

[kinyonga]

When were they laid?

Eggs do grow as they mature...and become Pinker and more transparent.

Taking on too much water is a concern for sure.Too much water surrounding the eggs may cause them to burst prematurely and can drown the embryos.

 

[Joseph 1233]

Pictures please.

It' is hard to distinguish how pink they are by the picture but here you go.

 

[Joseph 1233]

When were they laid?

Eggs do grow as they mature...and become Pinker and more transparent.

Taking on too much water is a concern for sure.Too much water surrounding the eggs may cause them to burst prematurely and can drown the embryos.

Sept 1st 4 months ago I think they absorbed a bit to much water early on now the vermiculite is about at what it should be was wondering if leaving containers open inside shoe box for a day or two at a time will help them or if they should just be left as is.

 

[Joseph 1233]

This is the enclosure I made for them not yet finished .And will be cleaned before I put them in .

 

[CJ's Exotics]

As far as I know, they look okay, and they do seem big.

 

[kinyonga]

They're veileds...right? What temperature are you incubating them at?

I'm not sure if leaving the lid off will help or not because I'm concerned that doing that might make the shells dry out without getting rid of the water in the eggs. If you think the vermiculite might still be too moist you could set up another container with vermiculite that is the proper moisture level and put it beside the one the eggs are in to get it the same temperature and they carefully move the eggs to the new container of vermiculite. There should be moisture on the sides of the container and the underside of the lid...that's normal. The vermiculite should be just moist enough that when you take a fistful of it you can only squeeze out one or two drops of water.

 

[Joseph 1233]

They're veileds...right? What temperature are you incubating them at?

I'm not sure if leaving the lid off will help or not because I'm concerned that doing that might make the shells dry out without getting rid of the water in the eggs. If you think the vermiculite might still be too moist you could set up another container with vermiculite that is the proper moisture level and put it beside the one the eggs are in to get it the same temperature and they carefully move the eggs to the new container of vermiculite. There should be moisture on the sides of the container and the underside of the lid...that's normal. The vermiculite should be just moist enough that when you take a fistful of it you can only squeeze out one or two drops of water.

The vermiculite is good now it has lost some moisture since I've poked breathing holes in the lids of containers I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they are ok and just in my closet ranges from 72 too 79

 

[jajeanpierre]

@Joseph 1233 From the look of the photo, everything looks far, far too wet. The eggs should not be shiny unless newly laid and still wet. I would make a new container with fresh vermiculite mixture for them.

I use equal parts by weight of vermiculite and water. This is how I calculate the amount of water to add to any given amount of vermiculite. Write the weights on paper so you don't forget the weights.

1. Weigh the container;
2. Add vermiculite and weigh again;
3. Subtract the weight of the container from the total weight of the container plus the vermiculite. This gives you the weight of the vermiculite.
4. Now add the same weight of water as the vermiculite weighs to the vermiculite, mix really well.

Carefully transfer eggs into new container. I use a ziplock container without any holes. They get fresh air when I open and look at the eggs. Keep handling the eggs to a minimum and make sure your hands are really clean or you wear gloves. You don't want to damage the surface or introduce new bacteria/fungi to the eggs. When the eggs are laid, there is a thin liquid film that quickly dries that you want to keep intact. This film (it's called "bloom" in poultry eggs) has antibacterial/antifungal properties. Be very careful to keep the eggs in exactly the same orientation as they have been in the old box, i.e. keep the top of the egg stays at the top in the new box. You can mark carefully with a pencil but don't damage the surface of the egg as it has a protective coating on it.

C = weight of container
V = weight of vermiculite AND it also equals the weight of the water
T = total weight of container plus vermiculite plus water

T= C + V + V

 

[kinyonga]

@jajeanpierre ... I already suggested moving them but you did a much better job of explaining how!!

 

[Joseph 1233]

@Joseph 1233 From the look of the photo, everything looks far, far too wet. The eggs should not be shiny unless newly laid and still wet. I would make a new container with fresh vermiculite mixture for them.

I use equal parts by weight of vermiculite and water. This is how I calculate the amount of water to add to any given amount of vermiculite. Write the weights on paper so you don't forget the weights.

1. Weigh the container;
2. Add vermiculite and weigh again;
3. Subtract the weight of the container from the total weight of the container plus the vermiculite. This gives you the weight of the vermiculite.
4. Now add the same weight of water as the vermiculite weighs to the vermiculite, mix really well.

Carefully transfer eggs into new container. I use a ziplock container without any holes. They get fresh air when I open and look at the eggs. Keep handling the eggs to a minimum and make sure your hands are really clean or you wear gloves. You don't want to damage the surface or introduce new bacteria/fungi to the eggs. When the eggs are laid, there is a thin liquid film that quickly dries that you want to keep intact. This film (it's called "bloom" in poultry eggs) has antibacterial/antifungal properties. Be very careful to keep the eggs in exactly the same orientation as they have been in the old box, i.e. keep the top of the egg stays at the top in the new box. You can mark carefully with a pencil but don't damage the surface of the egg as it has a protective coating on it.

C = weight of container
V = weight of vermiculite AND it also equals the weight of the water
T = total weight of container plus vermiculite plus water

T= C + V + V

Ok sounds goodeggs are not shiny just have someshinnyflakes from vermiculite also I have taken out the vermiculite and squeezed most of the moisture out already it is ar less damp then before if I'm going to change it maybe I'll just add a layer of pearlite

 

[Joseph 1233]

Ok sounds goodeggs are not shiny just have someshinnyflakes from vermiculite also I have taken out the vermiculite and squeezed most of the moisture out already it is ar less damp then before if I'm going to change it maybe I'll just add a layer of pearlite

I did that with my second clutch and they seem to be staying more white