What can I do for a moldy egg?

[lonewolfacres]

I had a clutch of eggs laid last week and one is growing mold on it. What does this mean and how can I fix it?
Thanks

[geckomom]

I'm relatively new to breeding, so you might want to wait for more knowledgeable answers, but I believe mold can indicate possibly infertile eggs, or maybe too much humidity in the incubator/incubation media?

I've also read that mold can be eliminated by sprinkling a bit of anti-fungal powder (the kind used for athlete's foot or similar condition) on the egg, but you should probably wait for confirmation of that before you try it, in case I'm wrong - I've never done it myself, so I'm not sure if it's the right treatment, or if it might harm the eggs if they're fertile.

Hope it works out, and good luck!

bobbie

[lonewolfacres]

Thanks, i dont think its from the because the other egg from this clutch isn't moldy.

[Up_North]

In most cases when that happens(one moldy egg)The moldy one was not fertile. If the other egg is not simply remove the moldy one and dispse of it. In most cases this is a dead egg and you dont want the mold to spread to the good egg. At least you may still have one good one.

[geckomom]

I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't have posted about the anti-fungal powder, in case I'm absolutely wrong and it would damage eggs.....has anyone else ever heard of this?

Please feel free to say "no", as I've only ever read about this, but have no proof it's harmless or even works.

bobbie

[DragnDrop]

The athelete's foot powder is the most common remedy if you want to keep the egg in case it's fertile. Geckomom is right on that one :) She's also right that it could be from too much humidity (water ) in the incubation substrate. She's no beginner anymore, she knows her stuff ;)

Up_North is also right, you could just remove the moldy one if you think it's a dud. Infertile eggs usually go moldy, but also slimy and collapse in most cases. If the egg is over at least 7-10 days old, candle it to see if it's fertile. If there's any sign of a pink glow inside, or if you can see veins, you can try to stop the mold. Use the athlete's foot powder to try and save it. If you're really careful, you could try to set up that egg in a separate container (don't jiggle it in case it is fertile). Fertile, healthy eggs don't mold. I've seen many fertile eggs developing properly alongside eggs just covered in 'fur'. Sometimes you can't remove the bad one so leaving it in won't hurt the good eggs.

[lonewolfacres]

I candled the egg and doesn't look like there's anything in it and the shell is kind of flimsy.

[geckomom]

I've had that happen, too. This might help, even tho it's called "abnormal hatchlings". In the eighth post (I think), I asked DragnDrop about thin shells that cave in quickly.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70375


DragnDrop gave me some really valuable advice in the whole thread. I've changed my supplementation to what was recommended, and I've noticed results already.

How's the egg doing now?

bobbie

[Jayson]

Just leave it in the incubator, if it is still good it will hatch and if not it will not hurt the rest of the eggs anyway. I have hatched moldy eggs before with no problems.

[geckomom]

I have hatched moldy eggs before with no problems.

From now on, I'll keep incubating the moldy ones....thanks for educating me. I thought once they'd molded, they were goners and could "infect" other eggs.

Thanks for the information!

bobbie