Mould growing on Gecko eggs - advice needed

[ari]

Hi All

My Nephrurus laid her first clutch of eggs like 6 days ago. Anyway I got an air tight container and put 50%/50% vermiculite/water - by weight - put in the eggs & closed the lid (lid has no holes in it at all) I then placed it on top of an enclosure, so there would be abit of heat coming from below. The average temp is between 26-28 degrees around the container.

Anyway alot of condensation on the inside of the container has come up. I checked the eggs and they have mould growing on them, after 6 days from being placed in the container.

I candled the eggs, and the inside looks yellow, with no veins or anything to be seen, so am I right in thinking they weren't fertile?

Also if they were fertile is it bad for some mould to grow on the eggs?

Anyway if I am doing something wrong please help.

Cheers in advance.

Ari

[jordo]

I've had beardie eggs coated in mould which hatched out fine. Sounds like they're infertile but don't throw em out yet, just wait and see. Maybe next time only put a 1:2 ratio of water : vermiculite to make it drier, I had a similar prob with my gecko eggs and if its drier you get less mould.
Good Luck.

[Rennie]

JMO, I haven't bred yet (hopefully this year!!!)
To dry it out a bit you can always wipe off that condensation on the sides or just move them to some drier stuff.
I don't think it would make much difference but isn't 26-28 degrees a bit cool for most species at least (I am probably just ignorant)

[soulweaver]

Rennie, trust me 2 degrees can make a huge difference to eggs!!

if i was you i would fan the eggs daily and keep an eye on them. Mould doesn't mean you will loose the egg, ppl have had eggs hatched with mould on them.......you may lose some this year, but you will learn and improve hatch rate next yr.

[Moreliaman]

Exactly what everyone else has said, ive had eggs covered in mould, they still hatch (well fertile/healthy ones anyway) are you sure you didnt turn/tip the eggs when you were candling them ?? some eggs die if you dont keep them the same way up they were laid, also put a little humidity meter in with them, your vermiculite sounded a bit too wet ! sealed tubs arent usually good either, they need a bit of ventilation...........oh and if you get a plastic bottle & cut it in half (length way) and place this over the eggs, this stops condensation dripping directly onto the eggs.
hope this helps.......good luck.

[Rennie]

SW, I was just saying it might not make much difference to the mould, I have an incubator with microclimate already even though (as already stated) I'm not breeding quite yet. But am I right in thinking that this is a bit cool, most people say 30-32 degrees, depending on species.

[jordo]

I don't think it would make much difference but isn't 26-28 degrees a bit cool for most species

Rennie I'd rather have eggs cooler than 26-28 compared to hotter than it for geckos which are particularly sensitive to heat. If you over heat them they die , but if they're a bit cooler they just take longer to hatch

[Rennie]

Well there you go, you learn something new everyday, especially on here. Thanks!

[Moreliaman]

You do know some species are temperature-dependent with regards to sex determination, higher tempatures can produce a higher percentage of males in some species.

[ari]

Cheers everyone

Thanks for the advice. Moreliaman I tried my hardest not to move the eggs much from their position when I candled them.

Needless to say the eggs were slightly dented inwards after they were laid - which I believe is pretty common. The mould is the fine haired one thats growing on the outside of the geckos soft shells.

The only thing is they havent collapsed at all yet.

Anyway I carefully removed the condensation from the inside lid & sides of the container - see if this helps.

I wont throw them out unless they collapse - but am almost 100% sure they arent fertile ( considering it was her first ever clutch).

I didnt think the mould would make that much difference really - if there was like heaps & a thick layer well maybe I would think differently.

Cheers everyone.

P.S. I thought about buying or making an incubator but thougt why when the reptile rooms temperature is between 26-28 degrees, average being 27 degrees. I am in Cairns you see.

And yep many species sex determination can be temperature based.

[TrueBlue]

To much moisture, and not enough ventilation. 26-28 is fine for most geckos even a bit cooler.
Go to the chemist and buy some Tinaderm fungicide powder for tinea. DO NOT buy the fungicide and bacterial one, just get the fungicide one, Wipe as much mould off the eggs as you can and dust with the powder. Magic stuff, I have saved many eggs over the years with this stuff.

[serpenttongue]

Ari, you should never have a build up of condensation on the inside walls of the container. You obviously have uneven temps in the container as condensation occurs on cold surfaces. So really, instead of creating a humid environment, you've created a wet one which i believe has led to the mould. You need the temps to stay constantly even.

I would also use a drier mix. Try going for 90% humidity.