Can you tell for certain if eggs are bad?

[Teal]

My Kingsnake clutch has only a few more weeks to go before they hit the 60 day incubation mark.

Some of the eggs went obviously bad - dried out and moldy.

The remaining eggs look plump and normal... except they have mold on them.

In my previous posts, someone said they had perfectly fine hatchlings come from some pretty bad looking eggs... I am wondering if that included mold?

I did candle them again when the mold started, and there was still evidence of veins.. I don't know if that makes a difference? I am afraid to candle them now (afraid to touch or move them at all, really.. in case there ARE little'uns in there)

So, I guess my question is - Is it possible that the remaining eggs are still good, even with the mold, because they are plump and normal looking? Or can eggs still go bad without drying out?

If we get to the 60 day mark with no signs of hatching, how much longer should I wait before tossing them?

[gareth.hooper]

Hi.

Post some pics to show us.
Molding to some degree may be acceptable but excessive in my personal opinion can be avoided with correct substrate preparation Inc temps and humidity.

[Teal]

I guess I DO have to provide the full back story -

The clutch was entirely unexpected. I had a WC Kingsnake (that I didn't know was female, let alone gravid) for exactly 7 days... woke up the morning of the 7th day to her wrapped around a clutch. I watched hours of YouTube videos immediately, and set up what I could with what I could get access to (very rural town, very little money), in an attempt to at least give the eggs a shot. So no, things weren't perfect... but I tried.

Anyways... I'll get some pictures tomorrow.

[Jlassiter]

They can hatch with mold on them.
But, as stated, a bad case of mold will kill a viable egg.
BTW, what kind of WC kingsnake is this?

I wouldn't toss them out until the 70th or so day, but I'd slit them before tossing them.

[Teal]

Thank you!

I went to take pictures, and all my camera batteries were dead after an event I did this weekend.. so I'm charging em up and should have pictures soon.

She is a California Kingsnake (I have since released her)

Good idea about slitting them before tossing them... I wouldn't have thought of that!

[shaunyboy]

Thank you!

I went to take pictures, and all my camera batteries were dead after an event I did this weekend.. so I'm charging em up and should have pictures soon.

She is a California Kingsnake (I have since released her)

Good idea about slitting them before tossing them... I wouldn't have thought of that!

when slitting the eggs candle them as you do it,so you avoid cutting veins mate

imo,there should be NO spilt blood if done correctly

re mould
i have heard of people using " athletes foot powder " on mouldy eggs,to slow/stop the spread of mould

cheers shaun

[Charis]

I've also head of applying a small amount of Listerine using a Qtip to stop/slow the spread of mold.

[ssshane]

I agree, photos would be a HUGE help when trying to answer this one.