What's wrong with my leopard gecko eggs?

Question

OK, I purchased 2 Leo Geckos about 2 years ago. I found out later that one was a male and the other female. Last year, the female layed two eggs in the substrate. With in an hour or so, they appeared as if they we "deflating". the side started to cave in, or appear dented. We discarded them, as we were not prepared to raise babies.

Just recently she laid 2 more eggs in the substrate. This time we had a tupperware container with some sand and damp moss to place the eggs in. I have a thermostat and a hygrometer in it as well. the temp is maintained at 81 degrees. We marked the top of the eggs so as not to drown the embryos. My quest.: Within two hours, the eggs again appear to have the "deflated or dented" appearance. Is this normal? or what have I done wrong? The temp remains constant at 81 deg. and the humidity is 99 degrees. Is it too humid? I could not find Vermiculite, could the moss cause the eggs to die, or are they just not fertile. Please help!!

Answer 1

The problem can be a combination of two things... 1 the eggs are not fertile, or 2, there is not enough humidity.

The first you have no control over, however the second you do.

You really want to use either vermiculite or perlite.  You can get this at many department stores including Walmart, or pretty well every single gardening store will carry it.

Mix the perlite or vermiculite with water at a 1-1 by weight ratio.  You will want to have the eggs on this substrate inside a tupperware container, poke at most 4-5 very small air holes in it, to allow for air circulation as the eggs do actually "breathe" through the shell.  

If it was too humid, then you would see mold developing on the outside of the egg, so that is not the issue.  

Also, 81 is a perfect incubation temperature.  That will yeild all females.  If you want male, incubate at 89, a mix incubate between 85-86.  When monitoring temperatures it is often a good idea to use multiple thermometers.  I have both a standard glass thermometer and a digital.  This is important in order to properly gauge that one device is not malfunctioning and often the glass thermometers are inaccurate by themselves.

Best of luck!

Answer 2

Moss and sand is not a proper mixture for incubation.  ANY garden store will have perlite or vermiculite, and both work fine for incubation.  You need to get the eggs into something that will allow them to absorb water.  

Also, realize that if she's only laying 2 eggs each year, they may be infertile.  If you really have a breeding pair, she should be laying 2 eggs monthly for the entire breeding season.  You also need to get her a laybox so she doesn't have to lay eggs in whatever substrate you're using.  This will keep the eggs moist until you can move them to the incubation medium.  You may also want to consider getting both geckos onto a solid substrate, as it is much safer and much more sanitary than particulates.

I find that reptile carpet, paper towels, non-adhesive shelf liner and tiles all work great.

Another note - if you do put a laybox into your cage and she continues to lay them out of it, they are probably all infertile.  Have you actually seen them breeding??

Answer 3

The eggs dent in because they are loosing moisture. The eggs should not be exposed to any kind of drafts or outside conditions so make sure the eggs are seeled off (with air holes) to prevent loss of moisture. The eggs should also be mostly burried withing the moist vermiculite. If they persist to dimple try adding some more water to increase the humidity.

A second possible explanation as to why they are dimpling in would be because they are infertile. Keep trying to incubate them for a week then hold a light to them in a darkened room, if you see small veins forming inside the egg, then they are definately fertile, if there is nothing inside then i'm afraid they are infertile.

Good luck with your eggs!

Answer 4

99% humidity is wayyyyyy to high.  They need to be 60-80% humidity.

It sounds to me like they aren't fertile.  She should continue laying two eggs every two weeks until September or so.

You can use perlite or peat moss.