Separating Eggs?

Has anyone else found that when they tried separating Corn Snake eggs it seemed to make them more likely to rot?
I had 25 or so eggs and only 4 weren't slugs, so I tried to separate the eggs out as the slugs smelled something terrible and got moldy and the mold was spreading to the good eggs.
However, when I separated a bad egg from one of my good eggs the spot where they had been separated started growing mold and it killed the whole egg. I was careful removing them, I don't think it tore or anything.
Was it just coincidence? Or does pulling them apart remove some sort of protective layer?

Thanks!

Not sure what the right answer is but as a precaution, If rotting eggs don't pull off easily I leave them in place to lessen the chance of damaging the surrounding eggs. Or if the rotting egg is near the bottom of the clutch l cover it up with vermiculite.

I believe the theory behind "benign neglect" in relation to plants also applies to snake eggs. The less you mess with them, the better it is for them.

I have a little different approach. Once the snake is finished laying I take all the slug eggs out and throw them away. Good eggs usually have a harder shell around them and slugs are usually rubbery, so I gently pull them away. If I can't easily pull the slug egg away I cut it away with a small cuticle scissor. If I have eggs that begin to mold I have had success by dusting the moldy spots with athlete's foot powder. Of course a dead embryo will result in a bad egg and there's nothing you can do about it if its stuck to good eggs and won't separate easily.

Thanks for the replies! Unfortunately, the last egg didn't make it. : (