Pics of babies hatching??

Rebecca · 02-08-05, 11:56 PM

Does anyone have any pics of babies hatching?? I have a egg right now (the clutch mate of the one that died) that has a slit on the side. It's deflated but I'm worried now that it might also die. I've never actually seen them hatch and am worried, I don't know if I can handle another baby dieing on me. It's very heart breaking.

CDN-Cresties · 02-09-05, 12:28 AM

How long has the slit been there? I've had a few of those happen to me. It just part of breeding cresties. Are the parents first time breeders because that may play a part or it could be something wrong withyour husbandry. Best of luck.

Rebecca · 02-09-05, 12:58 AM

Well I don't know how long it's been there between last night and tonight. I usually check them every so often during the day, but did not have the chance to today. This is the 3rd clutch this year. First year though.

CDN-Cresties · 02-09-05, 01:10 AM

Chances are it died. It happened to me last year, i know the feeling and it terrible. Did the prior two clutches hatch?

Rebecca · 02-09-05, 01:12 AM

ya 2 are fine. One Got out and lost somewhere in my room and the othe died. I also have 2 more eggs on the go. Should I open the egg?? Will it hurt it if I do??

CDN-Cresties · 02-09-05, 01:16 AM

Lift up the egg to see if it was slit on the bottom side, this is what one of my eggs did once. Make sure you dont turn the egg on its side, lift it up above your head so you can see underneath it. Personally I would just leave it alone. If the little one wasnt strong enough to break free on its own, it wasn't meant to be.

Rebecca · 02-09-05, 01:22 AM

Here's a picture of it. What do you think normal so far??

Rebecca · 02-09-05, 01:23 AM

It's on the paper towel because the other stuff I had it on didn't keep them moist enough. I found this better.

CDN-Cresties · 02-09-05, 02:22 AM

How long has it been like that? Its up to you, you can try to help it out or not. I wouldn't but that just me. Best of luck!

StickyToes · 02-09-05, 03:56 AM

I'm not so sure that I would recommend paper towel as an incubating medium. If the egg is in contact with too much water it can cause embryo death fairly easily due to osmotic pressure. The egg has a semi-permeable membrane that allows for water to be transported across it fairly easily from a higher to lower concentration. This might be what is causing your problems with hatching the babies. In essence the babies are weakened by the amount of water that is retained within the egg, and they ultimately don't have the ability to hatch.
I've honestly never seen the egg right after it has been slit because it happens so quickly that the gecko is already poking it's head out by the time I see it hatching.
Here are a couple of pics of siblings hatching.

You can see the first hatchling with it's head poking out in the first pic. I put the container back in the dark for about half an hour and when i took it out again the second gecko had begun to hatch.
I don't want to sound negative, but I'd say that the chances are that it probably won't make it. Best bet though is to leave it alone and let it do it's thing.

Rebecca · 02-09-05, 01:21 PM

I left it alone all night and in the morn I decided to open it and see what was going on. It was already dead. I used the peper towel with my other ones they hatched ok. I'll move my last 2 eggs though. I do have perlite and vermiculite mixed together under the papertwoel, so it's not in direct contact with water. Thanks for the help anyway.

Gex · 02-09-05, 04:23 PM

Another thing about using a substrate to incubate them is that it gives the hatchling something more to "push against" to get out of the egg while it still has the energy, also I think paper towels would contribute to a bit of a drowning problem via too much pressure being built up inside the eggs. Use perlite or a high quality vermiculite to alleviate the problem.

Rebecca · 02-10-05, 03:34 AM

Ya. I had that under neath but for some reason it never kept the egg moist enough. I'll figure something out. I just hope I don't kill anymore babies by my stupidity.

CDN-Cresties · 02-10-05, 05:35 AM

Just follow proper incubation methods and you'll be okay.

Do you have a scale? I find that helps to maintain the proper amount of moisture. Every now and then you weigh the container which has the eggs. If you notice any weight loss, then you just add that amount with water.

Gex · 02-10-05, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rebecca
Ya. I had that under neath but for some reason it never kept the egg moist enough. I'll figure something out. I just hope I don't kill anymore babies by my stupidity.

Its all a learning process, don't be too hard on yourself!