Are these eggs dead?

[The Bearded Derek]

My female gecko laid some fertile (Or what appeared to be fertile) eggs on August 20th, and as of now, I don't really see much of a difference at all in the color of the eggs. For about 2 weeks, the eggs had a tiny vein on them then gradually turned a little red. But past those 2 weeks and they look exactly the same. From at least nearly a month now I would expect the egg to turn completely red. Every 3 days I open the incubating lid to allow fresh air, although I can't leave it open for too long as the temperature would change drastically. They're on perlite (Holds the water for quite a long time, I was recommended to use it and so far it's easy) and the temperature varies from 81.8 to 84.0 In roughly an hour per time. Just now I opened them to check and the red is roughly the same and they started to get this weird white looking mold, I don't think it's mold though. They don't smell bad, so I doubt they're rotting. The third Picture was from September 3.

 

[discoverlight]

It looks like there might be blood vessels in the first two but the third looks like a slug to me (maybe feint veins, maybe theres some that i cant see in the picture) give it some more time and as long as theyre not molding or caving in, or not smelly, then theyre probably alright

I mean I haven't had eggs personally but if they dont smell or theyre not decomposing (which slugs usually do) then they should be fine

 

[The Bearded Derek]

The third picture is the same egg as the one in the first picture but I took the picture on September 3rd while the other 2 I took today.

Unless you mean the last picture, that one I think may be dead or infertile. I'm not sure though because her second clutch (This is her third) was infertile, and I knew because it was much softer and completely yellow, no red or orange hue to it, unlike this one.

 

[discoverlight]

Well I mean sometimes miracles happen with reptiles and what appears to be a slug actually produces something. As long as it's not smelly or molding, causing a threat to the other eggs then I think you should be fine? I mean a month in incubation a slug probably wouldve been really stinky by now I believe, but it does look really yellow. If you really want to keep it, then incubate it in a separate little bin from the others. If you're sure it's a slug then you should chuck it

And the first and third picture, of the same egg, look pretty fertile to me! If you see veins then you're good to go for a baby

 

[The Bearded Derek]

Other eggs can contaminate healthy ones? In mold or disease?

These 2 are the old ones she had

 

[Neon Aurora]

Yes, mold from slugs can contaminate fertile eggs. What I did with my incubator was put the eggs I was unsure of in a separate container than the ones I knew were fertile.

The third egg looks fertile to me, the fourth doesn't really, but that doesn't mean it isn't. My first egg incubated for an extra month (76 days at 86 degrees) before deciding to hatch, and I couldn't easily tell if it was fertile by candling. I just listened to everyone on here's advice, which was "If it's not rotten and smelly, keep incubating it". Worked for me!

Also, I would recommend mostly leaving them alone. I learned this season that it doesn't actually help you to know for sure if they're fertile by candling every week or two, and the oils on your skin can interfere with the anti-fungal properties of the egg. They have a better chance of hatching if you don't touch them. Most breeders say they candle once, at 2-3 weeks in, and then don't touch them anymore (and some probably just put them in the incubator without ever candling them).

 

[The Bearded Derek]

Alrighty, I'll stop touching them.

By the way, my incubator is a Styrofoam cooler that's pretty much completely sealed but when I open it, there's another smaller container that has a hole in the middle (for the thermometer). Should I open just the cooler and let it sit there for a bit open to get air or should I open the container quickly? The temperature drops pretty quick if I open the container.

 

[Neon Aurora]

I use a Styrofoam cooler for my incubator as well. What I did was place some bottles/jugs of water in the incubator. It might be tough to do since you already have eggs in the incubator (the water will be a different temperature and may cause fluctuations), but once the water in the jugs warms up to the same temperature as your incubator, than you will be able to open the lid without losing so much heat.

As for the hole in the middle of your container, I would recommend not having one. It's easier to keep your water to perlite ratio when you aren't losing water to the air. Although, I live in New Mexico (desert, very dry) and I see you live in Florida, so maybe this isn't such a problem for you. I used sealed Glad containers (otherwise my vermiculite would dry out very quickly) and opened them once a week for a brief moment (again, not too long because of the dry air) to allow more oxygen. If you want to keep the hole, than I would still open the entire lid for a second and then shut the incubator again.

I noticed in your original post that your temperatures are not staying very stable. This might make the water thing not work as well, but I still bet it would help to keep it more stable than it is now. I'm just not sure if you can do it with eggs already in there. Water takes more time to warm up than air and may cause a drop in temperature. And then, since your temperatures aren't regulated super precisely, if the water heated up too much, than it would cause a rise and take a while to come back down. I use a Herpstat in my incubator, so this wasn't an issue for me. Hard for me to say if it will be for you.

 

[The Bearded Derek]

I also have water bottles on the bottom of the incubator. I have a small plastic window on top of it, I have a thermostat in the middle to control the temperature (Which is why I had to leave a hole for the little thermometer) I forgot the name of the brand but I'll post it as soon as I find it's box. There's heat tape on the corners of the box to provide extra heat and to tape down this other paper (I forgot what it's called too, it's a thin hard plastic that has an electric current going through it to give off heat, which turns off whenever the thermostat senses its too hot) for the perlite (I went to a reptile store and the owner told me to do it and says it works just great for his geckos, snakes, and monitors) I got the container, filled 2 thirds of it with the perlite and just soaked in water, then I threw out the excess water which hasn't dried since. As soon as I come back from a dentist appointment, I'll take pictures of the incubator.

The fluctuations shouldn't do anything, right? It fluctuates pretty slowly. I'm sure in the wild it has to at least fluctuate a few degrees, especially at night.

and as for the container, I only need to open it for a few seconds for them to get oxygen? All this time I had it open for like 30 seconds or sometimes 60 so it can circulate well.

By the way, what's the average for leopard gecko eggs to hatch? I noted it down from 35-80 days and would the geckos suffocate if they hatch and I leave them in there for too long?