Why Did My 1st Hatchling Die?

[DirtyDuck]

Out of 15 eggs that my Leo's have laid I have lost about 5 to mold. One of the eggs From the very first clutch hatched sometime yesterday or earliy this morning, This was an egg I didn't think would hatch because it was kind of soft and turned dark but it did. This morning I checked the incubator and found a head sticking out with the egg collapsed around it's body. The head did not move and it did not blink it's eye. The head was limp, so maybe I made a wrong choice but I figured it was dead so I peeled off the shell, There was still no sign of life while I was peeled it off. When I removed the body from the shell it's guts were exposed like it wasn't fully developed yet. I set my incubator at 90 degrees for the first 2 weeks and took it down to 85 there after. I'd post pics but I can never get them to fit on this site. Is it normal for a leo to die after it sticks his head out of the incubator? :( :(

[Reptile Kings]

Once you deal with lots of eggs, the probability of you finding problems with a few of them rises, not all hatchlings will be 100% healthy, some do not make it. Every breeder has seen this, it's sad, but it does happen.
In regards to the mold, I'm guessing that your incubation medium is too wet. What is your incubation medium? I find vermiculite to be the best option, just squeeze out the excess water until no more drips out, and fill the container 3/4 full of it.
How many females do you have laying for you?
I ask because I had this one female last year, that threw me out 12 eggs, and all but ONE molded over, due to the babies inside not fully forming, so her days of egg laying are over. So it might be a problem with one of your females...but I think the problem is with your incubation medium being too wet.

Hope this helped answer some of your questions.
Best of luck with future eggs :)
-Sam

[DirtyDuck]

I am using pertilite, I might have it to moist I was so scared I didn't have enough humidity I might have over did it. I talked to a guy at a petstore who breeds Leos & Fatties and he said that it might have still been alive and even though it didn't move it could have still have been breathing and just waiting for it's body to soak up the rest of the yoke. He said he has had a few gecko's do this. I feel so bad, I wish I would have just left it alone. Hopefully another will hatch in the next few days.

[Reptile Kings]

Perlite is very tricky, I've tried once, and absolutely hated it. You have to have a perfect water/perlite ratio.
Just use vermiculite, you'll have much better sucess, and it's so much easier.
If you'd like more help on it, there's a caresheet section on my site, that describes it well.
http://www.reptilekings.com

Best of luck on future hatchlings! :)
-Sam

[Newt]

i used perilite with my first gecko eggs.......i didnt measure the ratio right im sure cause i was in a rush cause i found the eggs and i wasnt expecting them so soon
but everyday id open up the container and wipe off the droplets on the lid..seemed to work cause one of the eggs hatched and the baby is eatting n pooing and doing well