Possible collapsed egg???

[liljenn]

I put this in the "Health & Medical" Forum earlier and didn't get any replies...

Anyway, my female was gravid but I don't see the egg anymore. Today found this in her cage. (sorry for the graphic pic!) Could it be she is passing a collapsed egg? :main_huh: Has anyone seen this before or know why this has happened?

:sad2:This has been a rough year for me.....

 

[acpart]

I did see something like that in one of my cages and, not to scare you if possible, the female later died, possibly because the egg broke inside her. Especially if she's acting lethargic and/or in pain, I'd advise an emergency trip to the vet.

On the other hand, I've seen mucousy discharges from colonies where no one is gravid, so it's also possible that she re-absorbed the egg and then just let loose with some mucous.

Aliza

 

[gypsyterrace]

our girl willie had the same stuff coming out of her. she even passed some of that stuff right in the vet's office. she'd go through the motions like she was laying an egg, and all this gunk would come out.

after taking x-rays the vet gave her a shot of oxytocin to get the eggs out. i asked him about the possibility of a ruptured egg, and he said that it was good she was passing all of that stuff (and not holding it in) and to give the shot time to work. that was on a friday.

on sunday she laid a deflating looking egg and another rather small one. and two days later she laid two perfectly healthy eggs. poor girl. four eggs...and one had ruptured.

she did pass all the gunk and is now back to normal and eating healthily...but if we hadn't taken her to the vet, i don't know what would've happened

 

[liljenn]

Thanks for your responses. She just shed today and regurtitated it too. We will be going to the vet tomorrow. I don't see anymore eggs, but it could be a deflated one still in there. Hopefully she will be okay.

 

[Gregg M]

I have had the very same thing happen to me 2 times this season... Internally ruptured eggs normally do not cause death as long as the contents are expelled including the shell... I would not worry much about it...

 

[liljenn]

Thanks, Gregg. She has not expelled the shell, so we will be taking a trip to the vet tomorrow. I have been very worried about her all weekend.

Any ideas of what causes this? Is this something I should be concerned about for the rest of the season with her and future breeding? Or something that happens sometimes and they lay fine in the future?

 

[Gregg M]

Yeah, if she has not expelled the shell a visit to the vet may be in order...

The eggs that rupture are normally thin shelled infertiles in my experience... The few times this has happend to me has been with the first eggs of the season or from first time breeders... I am sure there could be other factors that can cause this issue like a female not getting enough calcium...

Let us know how things go with the vet check...

 

[liljenn]

Just an update, she did pass all of the shell and has been back up and acting her "normal" self. She doesn't have any other eggs (at the moment), so she's all good. I hope the next clutch is better. She is a first time breeder and this was her first clutch (just one egg). I don't think calcium is an issue, she is one of my bigger girls with a fat tail. She used to have the "sacs" under her arms this past winter (posted pics a while ago) -- but not anymore.

As for the vet, well, she wasn't much help and luckily, I didn't need her to do anything. And I am glad too, since I wasn't confident she knew what she was doing! I will be going to a better reptile vet in the future even though they are further away.

Thanks everyone for your advice and encouragement!