help with egg asap -- long post

[latshki]

ok so today school was canceled due to a blizzard so I was very excited I didn't have to do exams for another day so I was happy and decided to take a bath to let my stress of the exams soak away
when I was done I got out and went to check on my AFT and low and behold I saw the male and female in the hide box like usual but there was an egg!!!!!
(background info)
so I bought this female from a pet shop near me that I respect and love
when I got her I knew she was in bad shape, she had lost an eye to another male aft and she had laid multiple sets of eggs for the few months before so she was rather small and depleated of her fat and calci sacs
I have had her for about a 3 and a half weeks and she seemed very inactive in the tub as she would eat drink then hide the rest of the time, the only up side seemed she had gained 5 grams
so I decided to put her in the big tank with the male and hoped he wouldn't mount her and over all ignore her, well I introduced her and she walked around through the grass plants and all over, then she noticed the male and he perked up and she came over then he went back to sleeping not seeming to care there was a lady in town. so at night I seperated them by putting a barrier between the two sides. she then dug under the barrier so I put her back to her side and filled the whole to shorten it up he never showed any mating signs the only thing they did would be sit in the moist hide with each other then the egg popped out!

so in the hour I had a makeshift incubator, I took a rubbermaid container filled it half way with water put plate and heater in then made a rack threw some plastic wrap and a cover over it and the temps have been at around 85 for the past while so I need help and tips
how vunrable the eggs are at this stage ?
how long does it take the egg to harden?
can fluctulations in the incubator deform the babie?

sorry for the long post I am just surprised and slightly scared

 

[eric]

First things first, have you candle the egg to see if it's fertile? Take a pen light or any condensed light source and place it on the side or under the egg. What your looking for is a bulls eye. Like this.

This is a fertile egg.

Eggs in the first stage are very vulnerable IMO. I don't know if you've noticed the marks people use on eggs. This marking system is done to the top of the egg from which you pulled the egg out of the moist hide. Always keep the egg in that position. Unlike chickens, geckos don't roll their eggs.

The egg if viable will harden up a little but never to the point of say chicken eggs. More a dry leathery feel. Usually with in a couple days.

Temperature fluctuation to eggs can cause deformities.

If you could give us a little more information on your incubator setup that would help greatly.

 

[acpart]

The most important thing is to keep the temperatures as steady as possible and the humidity at least 80%. a degree or 2 of change shouldn't be a problem, but if it fluctuates more than that it could do in the egg, or the babies could have some deformities (at least that's what happens with leopard geckos). I don't have any more info about how to make an incubator. The eggs should get somewhat hard fairly soon. If they stay mushy and look like water balloons they are probably not fertile. I would assume these eggs are from the male she was with previously. Good luck.

Aliza

 

[eric]

The most important thing is to keep the temperatures as steady as possible and the humidity at least 80%. a degree or 2 of change shouldn't be a problem, but if it fluctuates more than that it could do in the egg, or the babies could have some deformities (at least that's what happens with leopard geckos). I don't have any more info about how to make an incubator. The eggs should get somewhat hard fairly soon. If they stay mushy and look like water balloons they are probably not fertile. I would assume these eggs are from the male she was with previously. Good luck.

Aliza

I agree with Aliza 100%. I've made an incubator out of a Styrofoam soda/beer cooler. Take the cooler place two bricks in the bottom of the cooler. Fill with water until its up to the bricks. Place an aquarium heater at the bottom the cooler (submersed). place a metal screen or something you can place the deli cup or container on for the eggs. Poke a hole big enough for the cord to go through, near the top of the cooler. You can fill the gap in the hole with silicon or paper towel is fine. Play with the heater to get it to the (Air) temperature you desire. This will take some playing with. most important piece is to find a mercury(liquid) thermometer ( i don't think they make them out of mercury any more) to monitor the air temperature. Once you've reach the temp you want ( any where from 81 degrees to 88 degrees will be fine just stick with one temp.) place the container of eggs in, put the lid on and wait! Mack sure the incubator is not near drafts or a heat source that could mess up the temperatures inside the incubator. Good luck! And you'll do great!

 

[latshki]

the incubator that you said is pretty much exact to what I have except the poly box is a rubbermaid storage container and I made a shelf for the egg container
I also candled the egg and it seems to be fertile but Im not too sure
also the temps have been at 82 for the past few hours

 

[eric]

Sounds great! I when in doubt about fertile eggs always incubate! Good luck you're on your way!