Victory's eggs look different. Thoughts?

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It’s Day 54 and I opened Victory’s bin to see her with the first eggs of her clutch. The eggs have a lot of starburst-type markings, which I’ve seen a lot of and aren’t a problem. Some also appear to have some thin areas, “windows” which are colored differently; I presume they’re showing the egg’s inner contents. All but one are large and seem viable at a glance. She’s still laying, so I’ve not examined them closely.

She’s had the same calcium +D3 supplement twice monthly that everyone else has had. The sire is Rubik, who’s sired other usual-looking clutches.These eggs will be set up in sphagnum moss. I guess I’m asking for anyone with odd looking eggs to share their experience. I’m hoping that the windows will hold through gestation.

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I think they still look within the range of normal, although I haven’t had any that looked quite like that. What’s with that partially deflated one? Let me know they candle after she’s all done laying.

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Look Really Super thin shelled to me! If any get holes you need to cover it with something. Bandage, tape, one of the best ideas I heard was to use a already hatched or discarded egg, it will stick to it on its own. I hope they make it they look super fragile! Good luck

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She’s done. The deflated looking egg had ruptured. There was a fair amount of egg goo on the floor of the nest box, the other eggs, the moss, and Victory herself. A couple of those wretched little flies had already been drawn to the mess. I removed the eggs & placed them on a paper towel moistened with room temperature water while I cleaned up the nest box and Victory. After she was resettled, I very gently detached the deflated egg from its neighbors. I used a damp cotton swab and when I encountered more than a little resistance I propped it with gentle pressure for 10 minutes or so, then proceeded. After about 30 minutes on the paper towels, I was able to gently swab away most of the egg liquid which had stuck to the others. I’m leaving the clutch is on damp paper towels (on the moss) tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll wipe them again. I want them to be clean. I candled them, and they all show some tiny veins.

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Final count is 11 to incubate. I am expecting that there will be some leakage at some point. I have had that happen a time or two, but I’ve never had a clutch like this one. Definitely got my fingers and toes crossed for these. I’d never heard of using a discarded/hatched eggshell to seal leaks. That’s interesting. Thanks.

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I occasionally get ball python eggs like this from younger females. Just a calcification error and they usually hatch just fine. Sometimes those will actually clear up into a ‘window’.

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That’s reassuring. I give my breeding females a supplement of calcium with D3 every other feeding beginning about Christmas time. (I don’t brumate them. ) If I decide to breed Victory again next year, I think I will increase her supplement to every feeding.

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Please be cautious with supplementation, too much calcium/vit d can cause hypercalcemia. I’d only be dusting once per week, max, for safety. Hypercalcemia can lead to nephrocalcinosis and renal failure.

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Thanks, yes, I’m aware of hypercalcemia. It can be a serious problem for sure. I have been doing a very light dusting about twice monthly, only from roughly the first of the year through when the females go blue for their pre-lay shed. I generally try and feed the breeding females every 6 days but it doesn’t always work out quite that way.

It’s very important to be aware of potential problems with over-supplementation in any species, including we humans. Just because something is easily available and over the counter doesn’t mean it’s safe in every quantity. Thank you for pointing that out. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I should also probably not reply while tired, because somehow my brain thought you said every day, I only just noticed that now. :person_facepalming: My apologies! :sweat_smile: Sounds like you’re more than aware of the dangers, and that I may need to adjust my sleep schedule. :joy:

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Aw hey, no worries at all! I really do/did appreciate your point for the sake of others who may read this. There’s a dangerous tendency sometimes to think that if a little bit is good, more must be better.

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Victory’s eggs look a bit better after sitting overnight in the nest box. They’re still not the most beautiful things. They are the biggest eggs from anybody this season, for sure. Here’s a comparative picture of yesterday’s eggs. Sunlight’s are in the moss. Victory’s are in my hand beside Sunlight’s eggs. They’re so much larger, it looks like I’m holding them closer to the camera but I’m not. I candled again, and there are veins in each one. One isn’t as distinct as the others, but that may be positional. Victory herself is a twin. Idk if that’s relevant, though. But maybe… lol

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Those are some massive eggs in comparison, no wonder she had trouble calcifying them all!

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They really are huge. Twins again would be kinda cool, but what with the way these look, I’m just hoping they make it to hatching!

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Not sure what’s going on with this clutch, lol. Or the mama. Victory was sitting on top of her nest box yesterday evening & today. I offered her a couple of fuzzies as a postnatal snack . She eagerly chowed down. Her basic attitude seems to be, “Hooray, I’m done with that egg-laying stuff!”

Anyway, I hope these large, fragile looking eggs make it to hatching. It would be kinda cool to have twins again, but I’ll be plenty happy to get one healthy baby per egg.

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Two weeks into incubation now, and these eggs are looking… okay, not really what I’d call “good” but at least they’re looking viable. Their texture seems fairly normal. The green arrows indicate a couple of eggs with tiny spots of mold which seem to be in places where the eggs sat in the liquid from the egg which broke during the laying process. I tried to wipe it all off, but there were a couple of spots I couldn’t fully get. Didn’t want to press too hard.

All but one candle with plenty of healthy veins. The orange arrow points to the one which candles mostly just golden. It doesn’t feel hard yet, but I’m not sure that it’s developing. I’m not going to try removing it. I don’t want to disrupt its neighbors.

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Do you keep a thin layer of moss over the eggs or are you just using it under? I’ve found that a sparse layer on top after my mold incident kept any more from appearing.

As for the golden one, I’d just go with the old, “Incubate until there’s no debate.” Seems that’s your plan anyways, but if it starts to mold, there’s always dusting it with a little Zeasorb or Lotramin powder.

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I do keep a nice, airy layer of moss on top of the eggs. I definitely appreciate its antimicrobial properties. I’m not too concerned about those little moldy spots at this point. Honestly, I’m just happy it isn’t worse! I couldn’t exactly wash the clutch with soap and water, and I was really afraid of what might happen with the remaining traces from the broken egg’s innards. As you say, I can dust them if necessary.

Yes, I’m going to follow the adage of “incubate until there’s no debate.” Egg #11 may not hatch but, unless and until it becomes a hazard, it’s staying right where it is.

Thanks, I appreciate you!

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This clutch is mostly continuing along decently. The egg which looked like it was having trouble has obviously shriveled. It doesn’t appear to be bothering any of the rest, fortunately. I’m in hopes that this will continue to be the case. These eggs have always been a bit larger than those in my other clutches. They still are. And I’m pleased that this odd-looking batch of eggs is continuing to progress through incubation toward hatching!

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