How to candle eggs. No youtube videos aboute this subject???

[skybird]

This one goes out to all you professional breeders.

Can some of you professional breeders make a video on the youtube aboute candling chameleon eggs?
There is no videos on this subject that i know of. There might be a reason for that?

I would like to know how to, how soon after laying you can see results, and what we are looking for.

 

[imcurt]

Great thread start!! im intrested as well

 

[heartben]

i saw a video on crested geckos where the lady mentions candling - she used one of those like.. super bright led keychain flashlights in a dark room and just kind of light it from the side and you should be able to see through it.

of course you dont want to move the eggs so just do the best you can.

i assume this should work just as well for any other reptile eggs.. at least this should give you an idea to start with.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Yes you can use any type of small flashlight. The smaller the beam of light the easier it is to focus all the light on the egg. Your really just looking for red/pink blood vessels if its early in incubation. Closer to hatching you'll see a dark form inside. I dont candle eggs personally they are either fertile or not and if they are bad they mold or collapse and then mold over in the first 6 wks of incubation generally.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I used a penlight (like the kind the doctor uses to check your eyes) but a small flashlight would work too, it just needs to be bright. Then wrap some foil on the end to narrow the beam to be about the size of the egg or smaller and so it's flesh against the shell. If the light just shines into the egg you'll be able to see what you're looking for. If the light beam is bigger than the egg or "leaks out" where it enters the shell you won't see much. See example of a snake egg being candled: http://www.ballpython.ca/images/breeding/breeding_pictorial/candle_b.jpg

You're looking for blood vessels. If there a vessels then something is growing. The vessels may disappear later if the embryo dies so it doesn't guarantee hatching, but that's what to look for. I candled Pygmy eggs the day before they hatched and only saw a single vessel and no dark spot. But clearly there was something in there since a baby popped out the next day!

 

[Dez]

Hummmm... Maybe I will try to tackle this this weekend .. I have several batches of eggs in various stages of development....

I use a pen light and candle them.. im not sure how it will look on video because of the lighting ... But I can give it a go

 

[kinyonga]

Be careful not to leave the containers of eggs open too long while you are candling them or you may dry it out.

 

[Dez]

I tried to film candling but the light I used showed up way to bright in the camera....

Sorry

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eE3xrPY7To

 

[skybird]

I tried to film candling but the light I used showed up way to bright in the camera....

Sorry

Hi Dez. It was worth a try, and thanks for the effort.

But we really should get a video on this subject on the youtube i think.
It would help many people out there in their hobby

 

[skybird]

Yes you can use any type of small flashlight. The smaller the beam of light the easier it is to focus all the light on the egg. Your really just looking for red/pink blood vessels if its early in incubation. Closer to hatching you'll see a dark form inside. I dont candle eggs personally they are either fertile or not and if they are bad they mold or collapse and then mold over in the first 6 wks of incubation generally.

Thanks for your post Tex This is just the kind of information were looking for in the video that we are missing on the youtube.
Sure is good to have you experienced breeders around at the forum

 

[skybird]

I used a penlight (like the kind the doctor uses to check your eyes) but a small flashlight would work too, it just needs to be bright. Then wrap some foil on the end to narrow the beam to be about the size of the egg or smaller and so it's flesh against the shell. If the light just shines into the egg you'll be able to see what you're looking for. If the light beam is bigger than the egg or "leaks out" where it enters the shell you won't see much. See example of a snake egg being candled: http://www.ballpython.ca/images/breeding/breeding_pictorial/candle_b.jpg

You're looking for blood vessels. If there a vessels then something is growing. The vessels may disappear later if the embryo dies so it doesn't guarantee hatching, but that's what to look for. I candled Pygmy eggs the day before they hatched and only saw a single vessel and no dark spot. But clearly there was something in there since a baby popped out the next day!

Thanks for your post on the subject ferretinmyshoes
The more information we can gather on this subject, we might have ourselves a sticky thread.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

I posted a video if you saw it.

 

[skybird]

I posted a video if you saw it.

Hi KarmaChameleon.

Thanks for the video post. I will keep that one in mind when my lovebirds are going to lay eggs pretty soon

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Just search egg candler on youtube.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

glad to see all of my eggs are still going great!

expecting a hatch out in about 2 more months