Did I Get To the Eggs Too Late?

[puppiesandkitties]

I had a female who just laid eggs and I didn't know that she would be laying very soon. I keep track of their breeding and she was three weeks into it. The third week was Tuesday. The perlite was moist, but not as moist as it was supossed to be. I wanted to prepare it in the morning, since I thought she wouldn't lay. She may had laid them last night and buried them. In the morning, she was skinnier, so I checked the perlite container. (Usually when mine lay eggs,a bunch of perlite would be outside the container, and it wasn't). I found two plump eggs. Bad thing is their shells are dry, so dry that you can't press down on them and the part you press on would slightly bend. The insides has little moisture left, it seems like.

I still put them in the incubation container, but with these, with a paper towel, I squeezed a little water on top of them, You think it is too late, or might they absorb some moisture and get better?

 

[puppiesandkitties]

Okay, I did research and found things I couldn't find before making this topic. It probably isn't too late yet, because they are not denting or shrivling up. They are still in the form of normal eggs.

 

[Kristi23]

Good luck! I hope they'll be ok for you.

 

[GeckoGathering]

Perlite??

I had a female who just laid eggs and I didn't know that she would be laying very soon. I keep track of their breeding and she was three weeks into it. The third week was Tuesday. The perlite was moist, but not as moist as it was supossed to be. I wanted to prepare it in the morning, since I thought she wouldn't lay. She may had laid them last night and buried them. In the morning, she was skinnier, so I checked the perlite container. (Usually when mine lay eggs,a bunch of perlite would be outside the container, and it wasn't). I found two plump eggs. Bad thing is their shells are dry, so dry that you can't press down on them and the part you press on would slightly bend. The insides has little moisture left, it seems like.

I still put them in the incubation container, but with these, with a paper towel, I squeezed a little water on top of them, You think it is too late, or might they absorb some moisture and get better?

The way I read about your lay box, you use perlite in it. Never answered a thread that way, but here is what I see happening......Perlite is a drainage material. When your gecko lays eggs it tries to reach moist conditions. Since we have a debth in most cases of a few inches it will go at or very nead the bottom of your container. When it does this it finds all the water standing since that is what perlite's purpose is. (drainage)......that is not the condition you are seeking. It is sorta like they have been layed in a puddle. Now if you would find them soon enough it would be OK. But when they are there for awhile ?? the shell gets soft from all the water and most likely leaks precious fluids along with the make up of a gecko. It may look like it dried out but it really leaked out. The weight of the egg presses down usually making a dent on the bottom side. Most likly it will not hatch but like the rest of my post it is only one person's opinion. Usually even if it fills back up with fluid it will only be water. If that was all that was lost......then maybe you will have it hatch. Doesn't hurt to try anyway, but be prepared for possible bad effects if it does....Suggest the lay box with another choice of material...........Hatch box with Perlite.....Since you position the eggs in the hatch box on or near the top, the water in the bottom from drainage creates humidity that surrounds the eggs and creates a pretty sound hatching procedure.
...take care. HJ

 

[Tanner505Geckos]

:main_laugh: ya wat hj said

 

[puppiesandkitties]

What material should the lay box be then? Perlite is the only thing I can easily find where I live, but I will try to find the other solution though. The good part is that she laid them in the middle of the perlite and the perlite didn't have drainage.

Also, the good news is that I just candled the eggs, and I do see embryos inside both of them, which means that they are both alive. I just have to hope that things go for the best. I am prepared for bad effects. With eggs like these, I really do not expect them to come through. If they go bad, it won't be as much as a surprise.

Bad news is that the air failed in my room while I was at work. It just stopped working, so the temperature got up to 94 degrees. Now I am doubly worried about my eggs, especially the ones that may hatch in a couple of weeks. Hope they didn't die, or grow another head, toe, tail, or something. Hopefully they are done with the body developing....

 

[eyelids]

I use sphagnum moss and peat in my lay boxes, but not together because some of my females eat sphagnum moss so they get peat... I prefer sphagnum because eggs get covered in peat and they stay clean with the latter...

 

[NyxsMomma]

I heard Vermiculite is a good material. I mean, I only heard this from a CRESTED gecko breeder, but it might be able to be used for leo's too.

 

[puppiesandkitties]

Well, I changed the substrate to vermcilute in the lay box. It really didn't satisfy me as much as perlite in the incubator, so I am keeping that perlite. I had a gecko lay eggs in the lay box and they did turn out better in moisture and there was no doubt they went bad. The mother of the two eggs I thought went bad is gravid again, and I candled her eggs, they are full of veins now, so I am glad that they are living. The shells are still very hard though, but are not denting. Also that same mother had two older eggs (35 days old)--one went bad on day 34, but both of them candled yellow on week 3 or 4, though they candled fertile. They had white shells and no mold...

Thanks everyone who helped.:main_thumbsup: