Small Clutch of Eggs

[Shaun P]

You could set up a new tub with the moss instead of vermiculite, as it is know to retard fungal growth but as I said the eggs will be fine even with the mould on it. If they are healthy/ fertile eggs they will hatch as long as temperatures and humidity are correct.

[gekosin]

So after all the advice and help we have had over the last few weeks I think I lost 2 more eggs :/

With this heat wave we have been having we have had to open the incubator to reduce the heat... On Friday my girlfriend was home so she opened it and went on with her day, she unfortunately didn't close it properly and when we got home later that evening the cat had somehow knocked the lid off. The eggs were very dehydrated and I tries my best but so far only 2 seem to have recovered.

[Primogen]

Make Sure the vermiculite is damp and add a clean damp cloth or paper towel over the eggs.
egg dehydration takes awhile to recover from so be patient.

[gekosin]

I ended up taking 2 of the eggs out they were totally mouldy... I had to cut them off the healthy egg and almost past out from the smell it almost looked like a boiled egg inside.... So im down to 1 still healthy egg and 1 not so much we will see i guess what happens in a few weeks.

[kfc223]

is this correct? Note - if you use sphagnum moss, it contains tannic acid, which leaves harmless brown stains on the shells. The moss is, however, acidic, which reduces any bacterial growth.

I have some moss at home for when/if the babies hatch will it work against the mold?

I've had mold grow on Sphagnum moss when used as lay boxes. That's why I use palm peat now.

[gekosin]

Hopefully in the next 2 weeks we will have a new baby in the house seems like we only have 1 good egg... Definitely a learning experience and will be redesigning and building a better incubator for next time!

I am currently using a dry incubator, I believe that a wet one works better so will look into designs for this

[gekosin]

Day 53 and still nothing... I'm starting to get concerned about my only egg not hatching, is there any way i can tell if there is anything in the egg or should i just leave it?

[Primogen]

53 days can still be early.
Does the egg still look healthy?, can you see movement inside when you candle it.
You can try cut a slit in the top of egg with a very sharp razor blade or scalpel but candle it first to try avoid most of the blood vessels.

[gekosin]

Still looks good, guess I'm just being impatient and paranoid since all the other eggs went bad... I have not yet candled it, I am kind of worried about doing this as well as i don't want to harm the egg/ snake...

[Primogen]

You can candle just dont hande the egg to much.
In the mid 40 days of my eggs when I candled I could see the snakes moving inside.
Mine hatched at 51 days and temps between 28 - 30 degrees.

[Shaun P]

53 Days are early, unless you had the incubator set in the higher temperature region. I had 2 clutches hatch at 67 days this past season, I cut at day 66 and all came out the next day, all the babies were fine. What temperature are you incubating at.

Regards Shaun

[gekosin]

incubator is at an average of 28 degrees with a few flucutations between 27-30 earlier this month with the heatwave we had

[Primogen]

It will probaly hatch very soon then, has it dimmpled at all lately.

[gekosin]

Nope not yet I have been checking it at least twice a day hehe guess I'm just not the patient type :? thanks so much for all the advice and feedback!

[Primogen]

I was the same , this clutch I hatched was my first and I checked my incubator 2 to 3 times a day with curiosity until the day I noticed a little slit in one of them
it is an amazing feeling. I really hope yours hatches soon.