I need help, it seems like everything is going wrong!

[jenryan49]

First of all, some of my eggs look purple. And they look too wet. Like, they were chalky looking when I put them in and now it looks like they're almost see-through. Why is it like that? Does that mean they're bad eggs? The purple ones candle red and the ones that aren't purple candle yellow, except for one that's candling white. The purple ones are like..bulgy, too. And one of the purple ones has like...lines going through it that I can see without candling...Nothing's molding or denting or anything. At least I don't think. Can someone help, I'm new to this?

Also, I think the perlite is too wet. I put a hygrometer in there to check the humidity but I think it's broken so I don't know.

I feel like the eggs should stay white like when they're laid, am I wrong? Is the purple color okay?

 

[acpart]

It's hard to know exactly what's going on without a little more detail (and I'm too tired to figure out what else I need to know). If you use a reliable method to incubate the eggs, then they should hatch as long as they're fertile and none of the many unknowns that seem to go wrong with gecko eggs occur. In other words, the best you can do is to set it up well and hope for the best. I do candle occasionally but I don't worry about it too much because I have had eggs where I never see anything hatch out healthy babies.
Here's a brief list of what to check:
--females are being properly supplemented (read through some of the "supplementation" posts)
--Incubator has the best thermostat possible for the steadiest temperatures possible (proportional thermostat recommended)
--incubator containers prepared in a reliable way (http://www.albeysreptiles.com/incubate-eggs.htm)
--the gecko gods are watching out for your little ones (I mean that sort of seriously. Last season I had about 40% of my eggs go bad for no known reason and at one point had 3 of 4 hatchlings die just out of the egg

Good luck,

Aliza

 

[MonkeyBean]

I know what you're talking about--here's a picture of a clutch I had that looked purple like I think you're describing (they're not Leopard Gecko eggs however):

They can still hatch, but I would decrease the humidity a bit and supplement your female with more calcium (not D3). This clutch will be hit or miss, but there's still a chance of hatching for sure, some of the above eggs did fine. I wouldn't expect the eggs to lose their purple color though, mine retained it even after decreasing the humidity in the vermiculite. I think the key here is that she needs more calcium to form better egg shells. Anywho, good luck and keep us updated!

Cheers,
-Matt

 

[jenryan49]

They look just like those! Do you think it's JUST because her calcium intake is too low, or is it JUST the humidity, or a combination of both?

I took out the wet perlite (it was almost soaking!) and put it some almost completely dry stuff and sprayed it so it was just a little moist. The humidity in the incubator itself should even out the dryness, I think. I guess I'll just look to make sure they don't dent or anything, so I know I didn't make it too dry...

How could I up the calcium? She has a capful of calcium w/o D3 in her cage all the time and I see her licking it almost every day and I dust her feeders with calcium with D3 too. How could I get her to take more? Any suggestions there?

 

[MonkeyBean]

Hrm, it sounds like you're doing what you can with the calcium actually. To be honest I was hoping you weren't doing one of those things so the diagnosis would be easier, haha. The above eggs were a bit of a surprise, it was off season so I wasn't supplementing the girls as much as I should have been. Perhaps it really is a combination. I noticed that the lavender color became more pronounced after a while in the incubator. I'm sorry I can't really be of too much help here, all I can say is keep supplementing her, make sure she's not under too much stress (this can also give them trouble in egg production I think--I'm a first time leopard gecko breeder but stress seems to effect other lizards for egg production), make sure the hatch substrate you're using isn't too wet, and try to gutload your feeders. This was that particular girls first clutch as well, if this is your girls first clutch that may very well be a part of it. Just keep doing what you're doing and can do and I'm sure her next pair will be pearly white. Good luck!

Cheers,
-Matt

 

[jenryan49]

Update: After sitting overnight in almost dry perlite, the eggs are back to normal color. In fact, I don't see any of the purple at all, but one egg still has the yellow/watery look. It could just be because that one's infertile, though.

Thanks, Matt, for the help. I'll let you all know if these end up hatching. If they don't, well at least I'm ready for the next clutch

 

[CSMGecko]

Well it seems everything is working out. I haven't had that happen to me as of yet. I would suggest using the method of setting up your containers that Albey suggests. It's posted on his site Albey's "Too Cool" Reptiles. Essentially it is using a tuperware container with no holes and filling up the container 1/2 to 3/4s full of perlite, weighing it and mulitply by .8 and that's how much water you should use. If you check out the site then it describes the method fully. It seems many people use the method and it works.

 

[MonkeyBean]

Sounds like you did a better trouble shooting job than I did, haha, must have been entirely the humidity. Dang, I really knocked it down a level for the eggs above, and they still kept that color for the most part...maybe with a bit of improvement. He next clutch looked good, so maybe I just botched the ratio twice for that poor clutch, lol. Well good luck and keep us updated!

Cheers,
-Matt