What does a "good" egg yolk look like?

[jajeanpierre]

I'm new to breeding chameleons and have had three clutches laid.

My recently imported gracilior laid her second clutch for me the first week of June. Most of the eggs were suspect when I dug them up. Many have gone moldy and I've opened them up.

All the eggs I've opened up have had an almost solid yolk.

What does a good egg look like when opened up? Is the yolk runny like a raw chicken egg?

 

[bobcochran]

A normal fertilized egg has clear viscous fluid with an embryo in the fluid. Depending on the stage of development the embryo can be very small looking mostly like vascular tissue with more clear fluid, or a more developed embryo will look more like a really weird very small baby cham: big head, bulging eyes, small body, less clear fluid.
When you open an egg that wasn't fertilized or died very early in development it looks like the entire contents were hard boiled. You can tell if the egg was fertilized if you dig through the semi solid contents to find a very small embryo or old vascular tissue. If the contents are pretty much homogeneous the egg was never fertilized.

 

[jajeanpierre]

A normal fertilized egg has clear viscous fluid with an embryo in the fluid. Depending on the stage of development the embryo can be very small looking mostly like vascular tissue with more clear fluid, or a more developed embryo will look more like a really weird very small baby cham: big head, bulging eyes, small body, less clear fluid.
When you open an egg that wasn't fertilized or died very early in development it looks like the entire contents were hard boiled. You can tell if the egg was fertilized if you dig through the semi solid contents to find a very small embryo or old vascular tissue. If the contents are pretty much homogeneous the egg was never fertilized.

They were pretty much solid and I couldn't find any vascular development. I was surprised that they seemed all yellow yolk and no white.

Does a good egg have a yellow yolk? Your answer only mentioned clear fluid. I'm asking about really early in development--from just laid to about a month old.

Thanks.

 

[junglefries]

Bob is right on one point, they have a HUGE head first while developing. Look like something from a B horror movie.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Bob is right on one point, they have a HUGE head first while developing. Look like something from a B horror movie.

But what does the inside of a newly laid egg look like? My moldy eggs were almost solid or semi-solid. Sometimes they had thick yellow yolk inside the solid lighter colored yolk. The egg looked to be completely filled with with yolk and nothing else. And yes, it looked like hard boiled egg yolk.

A good egg is runny inside, right?

I think this whole second clutch from this gracilior is infertile.

 

[junglefries]

It has been so long since I opened an egg, I couldn't remember if I wanted to. I simply never throw one away until it has sunken and molded. I have a tupperware divided by three that holds my leftovers. Sometimes I remember who is in there thru labeling and sometimes I offer the 'mystery' cham for sale. Bob's version sounds about right, you can always google xrays of a good egg.

 

[bobcochran]

Yes, a fertilized egg just laid would be runny inside. You have to remember a just laid quad egg is 2 months old( inside the female). If it's not fertile the egg starts to solidify because there is no cell division or growth. What you are seeing in your unfertilized eggs is mostly "egg white" which is mostly protein nutrient for a developing embryo, you won't see much else because fertilization never occurred.

 

[junglefries]

All this egg talk, anyone wanna join me for breakfast at Mel's Diner. I'm craving sunny side up eggs with a double order of bacon and toast to soak up the runny eggs.

 

[GCash]

All this egg talk, anyone wanna join me for breakfast at Mel's Diner. I'm craving sunny side up eggs with a double order of bacon and toast to soak up the runny eggs.

Kiss my grits. (sorry, had to do it.)

 

[junglefries]

Kiss my grits. (sorry, had to do it.)

That show was perfect for it's time (Alice, Flo, Vera, Mel, Ernie (name of the repair guy?). Flo who reminded everyone of that one aunt they have.

 

[GCash]

That show was perfect for it's time (Alice, Flo, Vera, Mel, Ernie (name of the repair guy?). Flo who reminded everyone of that one aunt they have.

Might just have to find an episode just to see what kind of memories it can conjure up. Been quite a while.