Nanci

The first time I was presented with this issue in a hatchling, it was very disturbing. After consulting with several experienced breeders I concluded that left alone, the egg stem would shrivel and fall off with the first shed, if not before. And that was true. Some people advise keeping it very damp, others advise a dry environment to encourage the cord to dry out. I have settled on slightly damp but not wet.

Last season I had more hatchlings and more egg stems. All resolved quickly without issue except one big one. I'll show pics of that at the end. In treating it, though, I was advised to snip it off. This made me nervous- I didn't want to have it start bleeding, so I let it dry a bit first.

Out of 34 hatchlings so far this year, I have been fortunate to have only one with an egg stem.