# Please help, leopard gecko egg has gone discoloured at 58 days??



## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

My name is Ella and i live in the UK, i have been keeping leopard geckos for about 6 years, i started my collecting by rescuing, now i have my own collection of 9 leos and some that i am getting back up to health. 

I am in a bit of a panic, I have be hunting through the internet franticly!! and have found no information that helps me.

I decided that i was ready to breed this year, i have been gathering information for over a year, i bought an incubator, and got ready got completely ready. I didn't want to induce the breeding season so i let the male tell me when the females were ready, i have homes for all of the eggs in the incubator already! most of the new homes will be members of family so i know that they are all going to a good homes. as i rescue more and more each year.

my first clutch of eggs was laid on the 19th of march, i have been incubating for female, one of the eggs died at about day 20, it started to go brown then completely fell in, i was about 50/50 to if it was fertile though.
The one that i have left was 100% fertile, when i candled the egg two weeks ago i could see the little lady moving around inside the egg( i candled with out removing the egg from the tub or even opening the tub). three days ago it started to go brown, i have taken pictures of it yesterday and some of the egg from today i will try to work out how to post them on here.

It looks like the eggs is starting to go black/brown from the inside out, or that maybe the shell is soft and thin?. The egg is not hard anymore, its not squishy either though its really hard to describe. The egg started sweating today, I don't no if it is just about to hatch or if it is dying?? Its at day 58 so its nearly there, i wonder if there is anything that i can do to help it? one of the pictures that i have sent makes it look really moldy, but there is nothing on the shell, it looks like its inside, it just looks like its really thin? It was not like this a few days ago. is this NORMAL!!!! I know that me and the family have made a mistake, me by letting people name the eggs!! i knew that there was a 50/50 chance the eggs could die in incubation but it had gotten so far, my nephew has called it bluebell, he thinks that it might end up being a blue colour as thats what the egg is starting to look like! 

if you have any advice for me at all, i would be so happy to receive it.
and in your honest opinion do you think that it is died or dying? 

i hope that there is something that i can do to help the egg.
I have done everything right, they have had the right humidity, and had air each week, and for the last fews days they have had air each day. 

Thankyou so much

Ella. 

Pictures are both both the left and right side of the egg.


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## snakeprint (May 29, 2008)

Sweating is usually a sign that the egg is due to hatch soon. Leave it to it. If it makes it, it makes it, if not, cross your fingers for the next ones!


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

thankyou for you speedy reply, i have quite a few eggs in the incubator, the others are looking really good, but this one is just looking strange!! I don't know if i had uploaded the pictures correctly? I have been in-contact with Fallen Angel's Geckos from the USA, she was stumped to the discolouration of the eggs. does any one else have any other ideas???


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## luke123 (Apr 13, 2008)

As above, if it's sweating it will probably hatch soon. If you've seen the baby moving, then just leave it and it should be fine. Good luck


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

the colouration is just getting darker, its almost black now, is this right though? The "sweat" marks seemed to have nearly gone now. I saw the embryo about 2 weeks ago, still moving and alive, candling it from out side the tub i cannot see any movement, but it looks very full, and it looks like the light is just not getting through


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## snakeprint (May 29, 2008)

Without being able to see the pictures it's hard to say. Like I said, if it's going to hatch, it will. If it's not going to hatch, there's nothing you can do about it so just keep your fingers crossed and leave it to it!
Edit: Ah, can see pics now. It does look quite dark. Sometimes lizards get too tired trying to push their way out the eggs and don't make it. We had a rankins dragon last season that got his nose out but seemingly died of exhaustion in the process. It's just one of those things. Seriously though, you checking it ever 2 minutes won't change the outcome!


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

I have been checking it about every half an hour, im resisting the temptation now. as its on its own im not worried about the hatchling being in the tub for a little while. How long can leopard gecko eggs be incubated for at 82 degrees, or i guess if it doesnt hatch ill leave it in there for a while untill i know there is no life left then i will open the egg to see why it didnt hatch.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

ellabella said:


> I have been checking it about every half an hour, im resisting the temptation now. as its on its own im not worried about the hatchling being in the tub for a little while. How long can leopard gecko eggs be incubated for at 82 degrees, or i guess if it doesnt hatch ill leave it in there for a while untill i know there is no life left then i will open the egg to see why it didnt hatch.


at 82*f eggs can take upto 70 days or so (I've had them hatch between 59 and 68 days) ~ as others have said leave it be for the time being ... opening or pipping an egg because it hasn't hatched can end in heartbreak if the hatchling was just late and was interfered with


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

i wouldt open the egg untill at least 80/90 days, or until the eggs smells and looks horrid, when there is no life let in there, i would only do it at the point of throwing it out, as i dont want to take the chance of loosing a hatchling  


THAKYOU FOR ALL REPLYS SO FAR KEEP POSTING PLEASSE, WILL PUT UPDATES SOON


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## quadrapop (Sep 20, 2008)

In my opinion it looks like its gonna hatch soon. Absolutely no point in panicking, if it doesnt theres nothing you can do. If it does then you have a baby. At 82 mine usually hatch between 54-60 days but other peoples vary. It looks fine in that pic. Ive seen my fair share of eggs hatching in the last 15 years.


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

quadrapop, thankyou for your reply, i just wanted to know if it was normal! if other people have had eggs that have gone a strange colour then hopefully i havent done anything wrong, will put more pictures up tomorrow if its really differnt, as will need to open it for air exchange


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

Pics look fine and I would say its going to hatch very soon! Try not to look at it quite so often as you may alter the temperature in the incubator which is not good for any of your eggs. I normally check mine once a day if no babies are due or twice a day if I know an egg is due to hatch. I know its really hard but please try to be patient.


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

nuttybabez-
thankyou for your reply, i have only been looking at it through the door of the incuabtor so it is not having an effect to the temp inside  
my update today is that the eggs is looking alot darker, and there almost looks like there are blood spots inside the egg, from the side view, the egg has also sunken from the top slightly. i will update if things change


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

UPDATE:

the egg has started to smell slightly, it has dented in more, and is not really looking much bigger than a newly laid egg, i have included pictures of the egg on its own and the egg next door to a newly laid one.

the picture is next to an egg laid that day.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## Geckogirl_88 (Apr 24, 2009)

hmmm, not sure myself. But I always missed mines hatching last year so i could have looked like that but i just never saw it lol.
Someone will come along soon and reassure you 

Either way, im afraid theirs not a lot you can do. If ur temps and humidity and fine, and they probs are cos the other eggs look grand, then its up to the little un' now. The waiting is always the hardest part 
xx


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

thankyou for your reply, the egg has been looking very strange for about 5 days now, and it just keeps getting worse, and the smell is really horrid too. It doesnt look big enough for it to hatch as yet, so im quite sure that something has gone wrong in the incubaton period . will leave it in the incubator a few more days before thinking what im going to do, when it gets to the stage of smelling the room out i think it will then be time to open the little egg.


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## quadrapop (Sep 20, 2008)

I wouldnt say its completely off but if it got worse its the tye that I would open. If your not sure then leave it until you are. I dont advise opening them if you are unsure at all. I just know from experience when my eggs are gone.

give it a week and if it starts to go further down hill you may find the baby has not long died.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

ellabella said:


> the egg has been looking very strange for about 5 days now, and it just keeps getting worse, and the smell is really horrid too. It doesnt look big enough for it to hatch as yet, so im quite sure that something has gone wrong in the incubaton period . will leave it in the incubator a few more days before thinking what im going to do, when it gets to the stage of smelling the room out i think it will then be time to open the little egg.


fraid I have to say that if the egg is smelling bad already then chances are it's gone ~ viable eggs no matter how bad they look don't smell bad.


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

*Rip*

Hey guys, thankyou for all of your help on this thred.
This is going to an update, and the last post from me on here.

This evening, i made a decision, i worked out that from the smell of the egg and the way that it had started to look this evening that it was not alive anymore. I took it out of the incubator and took it outside, i wanted to open the egg to find out what had happened. I thought that i would find it quite hard, and by gosh did I. I had a few tears, this was before i had even tryed to open the egg!!
I layed the egg on some clean kitchen roll on the patio table and used a small blade to open the egg. When i had opened the egg only about a 1mm i knew that it was the right move to make, the smell was not plesent. I trojened on. The little lady was all curled up inside the egg, she had the cord and the yolk sack rapped around her body, i think that it may have become tangled, and then become unatached from the body. I could only see this as i had taken the top of the egg off. The cord and plesenta, was still attached to the egg, but was bery tangled around the little thing. It was not fully formed as yet, so i think that it may have died maybe a week ago, or when i noticed the egg turning a strange colour. There is only one foot that has 5 fingers, the hands and other foot are not formed completely. other than that it looks perfect. 

The family were very upset, as was I. but we all no that this is nature and things like this do happen, and they happen for a reason. The children made a grave in the garden for it, and have made a small cross for the top.

I have included a few pictures of the little one, you can see where the cord has come away from the body and made a reasonably big hole.

R.I.P little one


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## Geckogirl_88 (Apr 24, 2009)

Aww wee shame 
sleep tight lil one
xx


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## millar69 (Mar 3, 2010)

oh dear poor wee soul


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

Aww, sorry.


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## smason280 (Sep 8, 2010)

I know you wrote this thread ages ago but in the case of this egg did it hatch


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## viperd (May 11, 2009)

no if you read through the thread she states that she opened the egg b4 disposing it, the leo had died b4 hatching !!


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## ellabella (Feb 25, 2008)

smason280: I know you wrote this thread ages ago but in the case of this egg did it hatch


I did open the egg as i was 150% sure that it had died prio, the smell was the give away. I think that if you look through the thread there are pictures of the wee little one that had sadly died.

Ella


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## DippyDazza (May 5, 2008)

So Sorry to hear about the loss hunny  It cant have been easy


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## mariex4 (Oct 19, 2009)

so sorry for your loss . he/she was a beautie . R.I.P little one xx


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