Introducing Elmer, my little glued egg sikorae (and the prettiest by far)

BonnieLorraine · #1 02-07-2012, 10:33 PM

I accidentally dented in the top of this guys egg and covered it in hairline cracks while putting the lid on the tupperware (I didn't realize the circle on the lid dipped down so far, and it crunched the egg). I first patched it with about 3 layers of elmer's glue and a single ply piece of tissue after asking snake breeders what to do and reading some articles online. Unfortunately, I didn't think clearly enough to remember what happens to white glue in a humid environment, and after being in the incubator overnight it was a giant gooey gluey mess. I cleaned it up carefully by scraping with toothpicks and using water and qtips, applied another single ply of tissue to stabilize the cracks, and did about two layers of super glue. It seems to have paid off, this little guy hatched yesterday, and just finished shedding today. I'm still waiting for his clutch mate to hatch, but luckily there was no damage to that egg so it should be fine as well.

miguel camacho! · #2 02-07-2012, 11:10 PM

Wow, was it when you were first transferring the eggs from the enclosure to the incubation container that the crack(s) happened?

BonnieLorraine · #3 02-07-2012, 11:12 PM

No, it was when I put the lid on the tupperware. I wasn't expecting a third clutch of eggs so soon, all her clutches were 17 days apart, and I was out of tupperware so I tried to put them in a shallower container than what I had been using. I thought I left plenty of room between the top of the egg and the lid, but part of the lid dips down into the container and it crunched in the top of the egg when I put it on.

Salzy · #4 02-07-2012, 11:43 PM

Wow! I'm glad your technique worked out, because that is one heck of a stellar hatchling! Good job doing some quick research and making it happen.

BonnieLorraine · #5 02-08-2012, 05:39 PM

Thanks Kyle! I just felt like such an idiot after ruining a perfectly good egg, I'm glad it was repairable. My female web foot just laid her first clutch of fertile eggs this morning (after two clutches of infertile ones) and I accidentally broke one while searching where she laid them

Unfortunately those eggs being incredibly hard shelled and thin, shatter on impact, and there was no repairing that damage. At least I have one good one I suppose, and she can always lay more now that they seem to have figured it out.

Oh, the other sikorae hatched out this morning as well, not as pretty as the other, but still very nice with that red background color and some smaller white patches, I'll get some pics up of him later after he sheds. I also found two froglets in my dart frog tadpole incubator this morning, was busy at my house lol.

miguel camacho! · #6 02-08-2012, 10:12 PM

Still curious, though...at what point did you crack the egg? Days before it hatched? Weeks or months before it hatched? Or was it days/weeks/months after it was laid?

BonnieLorraine · #7 02-08-2012, 11:51 PM

I cracked it the day it was laid, maybe an hour or two after she laid it.

miguel camacho! · #8 02-09-2012, 09:38 PM

Thanks! That is great info!

allen · #9 02-13-2012, 09:17 AM

Damn, Is that a sikorea or a pietschmanni??

Luckely the glueing method worked for you, i tried this in the past and my results were not that good. Probably already gone bad or the heavy damage...

sikorae · #10 02-13-2012, 11:30 AM

Congratulations its a very pretty hatchling, good to see it all went well with the glued egg