It is day 78 of incubation and one of my eggs began to sweat and deflate two days ago. I thought for sure I’d have a baby bearded dragon by now, but no. I just checked on the egg again and it looks even more deflated but has stopped sweating and the shell feels kind of tough. I’m worried the baby won’t be able to break the shell. Is there a way I can soften the shell to make hatching easier? I know I shouldn’t cut the egg open, so please let me know if there is any other way to help with the hatching process without cutting the egg. Humidity is fine, maybe even a bit higher than it should be. It fluctuates from 80% - 90%. Temperatures are always in the mid 80's but not always constant because I have a crappy Hovobator incubator.
Egg Trouble, please help
- Thread starter Kambo
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How is the egg ? I've hatched a lot of babies, very rarely would one die in the egg, but it can happen. I've read only once of a breeder very gently cutting one end of the egg to successfully let the baby emerge. I don't recommend it, but the thread was on here a few years back, I believe pics were included.
The egg is still the same. I tried candling it and I can see the shadow of the baby, but it's hard to get a clear view because the egg is so deflated now. There is only one other egg with it and that egg has been sweating for a few days now but hasn't deflated at all. There was a third egg that hatched a week earlier but the baby didn't make it. It still had the yolk sac and was very lethargic. I'm worried that maybe this is just a weak clutch. Do you think I should cut the egg open or just leave it be?
I think it's probably dead....if you want to very gently snip one end you can try it though. Can you post pics of your eggs ? Was there more than 3 or is that all the eggs she laid ? Here's how to post pics :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to attach pics
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to attach pics
I figured the egg was probably dead, yeah. That's really unfortunate. It hasn't molded yet though so I'll have to decide whether to cut it open or leave it be.
She actually had 20 eggs to start but about half of them were infertile from the beginning. Then the rest slowly died off, molding and getting slimey, until only the three were left. The mom was given lots of calcium and good food (collard greens and dubia roaches mostly) while she was gravid.
Thank you for getting back to me and continuing to answe. I really appreciate it.
Yes, it looks like it's gone but no need to toss it and if you're hesitant to cut it I understand that. Strange that most of the eggs went bad. Were you maybe adding water to them + got the vermiculite to get too wet ? It looks like the eggs may be a bit waterlogged, but then it could just be the picture.
That's very possible. This is my first time with eggs and I've made stupid rookie mistakes. I didn't originally have the hydrometer in the egg bin, just in the incubator. So the humidity was always reading low. I would add small amounts of water to the vermiculite weekly. The thing that's strange though is that these eggs made it so far along and lately I haven't added water unless the vermiculite felt dry. And it seems to dry out pretty quick. It's even slightly dry right now so I don't understand why the eggs would be just now showing signs of being waterlogged.
Anyways, I did cut open the egg. Baby is dead. It even looks slightly under developed. Either that or its snout is just naturally short. I'll post a picture in a minute.
Anyways, I did cut open the egg. Baby is dead. It even looks slightly under developed. Either that or its snout is just naturally short. I'll post a picture in a minute.
It's hard to keep eggs at the right moisture level in small shallow containers like that so it's likely that you added a little too much water close to the hatch date. I used to use plastic shoeboxes with about 3 inches of vermiculite, I usually added water maybe twice during the incubation period. Here's a pic :
This is actually sand + vermiculite.
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29884/full
This is actually sand + vermiculite.
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29884/full
I use incubation boxes made by Dr. Seward for my gila monster and beaded lizard eggs. They work awsome! I don't even have to open the boxes for the entire 6+ month incubation period. Basically you set them up and don't open them until babies hatch. Since bearded dragons only take 2 months to hatch I am positive they would work fantastic. Gilas and beaded lizard eggs are known to be some of the hardest eggs to hatch in captivity...so I'm sure they would work equally well for any reptile egg. Obviously you need a good incubator that maintains a constant temp...
If interested Dr. Seward sells them on his website. I don't think you need to be a member of his forum to order them. They are only about $10 each.... http://www.drseward.com[ximg]85426 9855786887[/ximg][ximg]85426 1582480362[/ximg]
If interested Dr. Seward sells them on his website. I don't think you need to be a member of his forum to order them. They are only about $10 each.... http://www.drseward.com[ximg]85426 9855786887[/ximg][ximg]85426 1582480362[/ximg]
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