Hi everyone,
I’m reaching out because I really need some guidance and support. I’ve been keeping leopard geckos for several years, but this is my very first breeding season. One of my eggs was laid on March 25th and has been incubating steadily at 27°C (80.6°F). Today is May 23rd (day 59), and the egg had been dented for about five days (I have checked like a week ago and it was fine).
I knew the egg was fertile – I had candled it multiple times, and development was progressing normally. But as the denting got worse, I became afraid it might be going bad and could affect the other eggs in the incubator. So today, I very carefully made a small opening in the shell just to check what was going on.
Inside, I found a fully formed hatchling. It’s still inside the egg – I did not remove it – but it doesn’t seem to be breathing or moving. I’ve placed it back into the incubator, just in case.
Now I’m completely torn:
• Is it 100% dead?
• Should I try to remove it from the egg and clean it, or would that cause more harm than good?
• Or should I leave it in the incubator as it is and give it more time?
Please, I’m not looking for judgment – I truly care about my animals and acted out of concern. I just need honest advice. I’ve never dealt with a situation like this before, and I want to do the right thing.
Any help or similar experiences would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much in advance.
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Eggs will naturally deflate as they get close to hatching. Otherwise just make sure your substrate is still holding a good amount of humidity.
Hopefully the baby is fine, but I would refrain from cutting any more unless the sibling pips or hatched out 24 hours or more earlier.
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Thank you again for your reply, I really appreciate you taking the time.
The reason I ended up making a small cut was because the egg had started showing greyish spots and was getting really soft, and I got worried it was going bad. It had been dented for several days and I thought I might lose it to mold or rot if I didn’t check.
But now that I’ve seen no movement at all, I’m honestly thinking the baby might already be gone. It’s just hard to believe, because everything looked fine up until now, and it made it this far.
After reading your message, I’m now even more afraid that I might have harmed it by opening the shell. I’ve even been debating whether I should just take it out completely, but if it’s already gone, maybe that wouldn’t change anything…
This has been really hard, and I just want to do what’s best. Thank you again for your support – it means a lot.
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You need to leave it alone, the more you mess with it the greater the chance something goes wrong. The general rule is, “Incubate until there’s no debate” meaning leave it until it’s 100% clear the egg has gone bad. Eggs soften and dent before hatching, this is normal. Leave it in the incubator. Don’t touch it, don’t take it out, just be patient. With luck the little one will be fine, but cutting is always more likely to harm than help unless you absolutely know what you’re doing.
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Hello,
Thank you for your reply, It is really appreciated.
I left it there, and I will let y’all know.
Have a lovely day
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Update:
Hi everyone, just wanted to give an update – thank you again to those who responded and helped.
This morning I checked on the egg again, and unfortunately, it had started to smell very badly. The egg felt cold to the touch, and I realized it was time to open it completely.
Sadly, the hatchling was dead inside. It was almost fully developed but looked somewhat crumpled and slightly deformed. Based on what I saw, I believe something must have gone wrong during those last days when the egg started to collapse. Somehow, I was still hoping it could make it.
I’m attaching a photo below – please be aware it may be difficult to see for some, but I think it could be useful for educational purposes. If this helps even one person recognize warning signs earlier, then at least something good can come from it.
This was really heartbreaking, but I’m learning a lot this season and will keep doing my best for my animals. Thanks again for your kindness and understanding.
