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"Window" on egg leaking fluid

Amanda E

Amanda E

Snake Addict!
I have an egg that is slowly leaking embryonic fluid from a "window" at the top of the egg. (The window is also getting larger. Yesterday it was only about 3 millimeters in diameter, now it's about 6 millimeters in diameter)

The eggs are due to hatch any day now. My last clutch took 72 days to pip, and today is day 71 for this clutch.

I'm guessing that I just do nothing and wait it out, right? The only thing that makes me concerned is this egg has slowly been caving in since last week despite remoistening the moss and just today it has taken on a cream colored tint (the change in color is what worries me most, as I know they cave in a bit before pipping).

Any opinions, suggestions?

Hypothetically, what if instead of being close to pipping this had started to happen early on in incubation? Is there anything that can be done to stop the leakage? Or if not close to pipping is the egg doomed to die?
 
I know that I am not an expert, but I can tell you what happened to me when this happened this year. I had an egg start leaking like you described, right around pipping time. (I believe another forum member also had this happen) I waited a couple of days, and then contacted some breeders that I know. They told me to slit the egg and check the baby to see if it was alive. Unfortuately, the little one was dead in the egg. From what I understood, when this happens, the little ones usually don't make it. The very same evening the remaining eggs pipped, and they were all healthy.
This is just my experience, I am sure others will have other opinions.

Take Care!!! :)
 
This year I had four or five incidents of fluid leaking from eggs... one was my large clutch of 20 eggs from my reverse okeetee... I was looking at the eggs (about 2 week old eggs) and noted that one had a large accumulation of vermiculite on one end... close examination showed it had sprung a leak and leaked out all it's "stuff" into the vermiculite. I kept a close eye on those eggs and about two weeks before they were due to hatch, I noted that two of my eggs had begun to leak. Not knowing the exact situation, I opened one up. It was small, appeared deformed and while it was alive, it died shortly after removing it from the egg. I took the other egg and placed a bandaide over the end that had slightly ruptured. That egg did hatch, but along with most of my eggs this year, the baby was deformed and died shortly after the snake (a beautiful reverse okeetee) had pipped.

I also had two eggs, both a kingsnake and a corn egg, right about the time I expected them to hatch, start to "sweat"... I was told that meant they were dead in egg, and after waiting a bit discovered this to be true. both had perished. Basically a sudden amount of moisture is indicative of a hatching egg, or an egg in trouble.
 
Well, I'm pretty much against the idea of cutting eggs open. I know it can sometimes save a baby, but I'd rather only try it after all the other eggs have pipped. I checked on them all this morning and the egg that was leaking isn't anymore :shrugs: so I don't know what's up about that, and none of the other ones have pipped yet.

I was sure that they would have pipped earlier than my first clutch did since I was trying to keep them at slightly more elevated temps, but I guess I still have waiting to do. At least there are still 6 eggs that look real good.
 
not sure...but

It seems like I read somewhere that leaking like that indicates too much moisture. Maybe you should move it to a dryer part of the incubation box or maybe put some dry substrate under it.
Just a thought
 
The thing is... it had caved in a bit, even with moist moss around it, so I figured that since it was the closest one to the heat source, that it was getting ready to pip.

And it was only leaking from the "window," not the whole egg.

If I put it in a drier area, I would think it would cave in more than it already has and would be worse for it, if the snake is still alive that is.
 
hmmm

Yeah, if it was caving in also I don't think a dryer area or dry substarte would help.
Unfortunately I think it may have already died.
sorry
Hard decision...how long do you give it before deciding to slit the egg to find out.
I think I would give it another day or so just to see what happens.
If it is already dead then obviously another day can't do any damage.
If it is alive and ready to pip it just may need a little more time.

If you give it another 24 hours I think it will become pretty obvious which way to go.
Just my opinion on my limited experience
 
Caving in can be an indication that the egg is ready to hatch. Many of my eggs cave in a few days prior to hatching. I've also had some hatchlings that pip days before the rest of the clutch, which may be what is happening with that egg. However, if the hatchling is weak, it may not be able to finish pipping on its own. I know you are against slitting your eggs, but if the egg were mine, I would help it, just in case the hatchling is still alive and just needs a little help. You don't have to totally open the egg, just make a slit large enough for a hatchling to get it's head through.
 
Most of the time if an egg is leaking from a window, and NOT sweating all over, just letting the area dry out a bit helps. If the hatchling inside is still alive, these eggs have an uncanny ability to seal themselves up. I'd avoid misting and try to let it dry out a little, but not too much. I had one start leaking weeks before they were due to hatch, and had lost a lot of fluid. I took all the moss off of the window until it dried and sealed (mind you the rest of the egg was surrounded by slightly damp moss). Once it was sealed I continued to keep the moss around the egg moist, but still being careful with the window. It absorbed moisture to replace what it lost and ended up hatching just fine.
However, if the rest of the egg begins to sweat or appear soggy it is a very bad sign. After awhile you learn to be pretty accurate on whether an egg is dead or not just by the feel and look of the egg (and gross, the smell of the leaking fluid). Of course even when I predict they are dead, I still take a peak inside to confirm. I hope it turns out OK.
 
Well, the other eggs pipped this morning. I went ahead and pipped the one with the window. I tried to peak inside but I couldn't see much. I thought it looked like something had moved under another section of the egg, but I could have been hallucinating. I still have hopes. At least the other 6 babies look like they are going to be okay.
 
Keep us informed! I am so anxious to hear how the last little neonate turns out!

Good luck, my fingers are crossed for you. 8-P
 
Well, all of the other hatchlings had come out, so I opened the egg up completely only to find a pink/brown mass of tissue, very similar to that of a regurgitated pinky. What I thought was interesting is that they either develop extremely fast the last week or so, or this egg died a long time ago and just took a long time to show signs of death. All I saw in the way of a snake was a length of hardened tissue, presumably the backbone, but not much else.

Thankfully, I got 6 hatchlings out of this clutch, a success rate of 75%, not too bad since the first clutch had a 100% success rate.

One important note, of the 6 hatchlings, half of them are of the morphs I've been waiting for, 2 caramels, and 1 amber. Of the 13 hatchlings in the first clutch, not 1 was a caramel or amber. Very interesting. Like saving the best for last.
 
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