# Bad eggs every time



## dartguy (Feb 2, 2011)

Ok, so I have a trio of citronellas (2 males, 1 female), 18 months old, that have been breeding since September. Between then and now, they have laid several clutches, all of which were bad. I know there are similar posts on this forum regarding this subject, but in the threads that I have read, they discuss how the eggs were developing and then the embryos died. None of my clutches even showed signs of development before going bad. Their staple diet is fruit flies and I supplement that with pinhead crickets and fruit fly maggots. I feed them every other day and I dust the flies at every feeding using Repashy Calcium Plus. Over the last two months, I have been using the Repashy Vit A supplement, starting once a week for about a month, then once every two weeks. I normally pull the eggs after 48hrs after deposition. My frogs received a break from mating for about a month when I transferred them to a new enclosure. They recently laid a new clutch of 11 eggs this week and these eggs seem to be suffering the same fate. I thought that maybe the male(s) weren't doing they're job, but I have seen them in the hut with the female during mating sessions, and I have seen the males return to the coco hut after the eggs have been laid. I'd just really like to know what is going on. I keep leucs as well and they never fail to produce viable eggs and tads. If anybody can help me, please let me know. Thanks.

BTW, I bought the Repashy Calcium Plus in Dec. and the Vit A supplement in March, so I don't think it an expired product issue.


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## Finchfrogs15 (Apr 28, 2011)

i used to supplement my frogs with repashy calcium plus and vit A once a week and most of their eggs would go bad. Then i started to supplement at every feeding and it seemed to work. I get a lot less fewer bad eggs now. So maybe you could try and supplement more frequently? just a thought.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

It sounds like you're doing things right. I'm having problems with tinc eggs, too. I'll be watching to see if you find a solution.


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## stu&shaz (Nov 19, 2009)

I don't have answers but i have questions,these details might have relevence for the more experianced guys.You pull eggs after 48,how do you treat them next? Do you use any mould inhibitors? 
Are these frogs related?
Often i pull eggs right at the end of the day,figuring,these are diurnal frogs,they will have finished,mating,why pull after 48 hours?
I wish i had answers for you,that i could help,more this is all i could think of.
We dust each feed with repashy Ca plus,every 2 weeks vit A,only one morph of tinc breeding,i'm embarrassed to say eggs are stupidly good.Our darts also get iso and springtails regularly,plus wild grub
Is it possible you are giving them too much vit A?

Good luck to both
Stu


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## jknight (Jun 25, 2009)

It's sounds like it could be a couple different problems. Try leaving theeggs in longer then 48 hours.. The males should be fertilizing them within this time period but leaving them undisterbed for a longer period of time would give them ample time to do their thing .. Also leaving them in longer will give the eggs the right humidity/ temp/ moisture they need. If they start to develop then take them out. How do you house them after you pull them?


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## dartguy (Feb 2, 2011)

stu&shaz said:


> I don't have answers but i have questions,these details might have relevence for the more experianced guys.You pull eggs after 48,how do you treat them next? Do you use any mould inhibitors?
> Are these frogs related?
> Often i pull eggs right at the end of the day,figuring,these are diurnal frogs,they will have finished,mating,why pull after 48 hours?
> I wish i had answers for you,that i could help,more this is all i could think of.
> ...


To answer your questions.....

1. After I pull the eggs, I transfer them to an incubation container. It is a plastic food container with a few, small holes drilled through the lid and i small hole drilled through each side of the container, for some ventilation. I also place moistened paper towels on the bottom to keep the humidity level high. I also lightly mist the eggs using dechlorinated tap water and oak-leaf tea. The container is kept on the top of the rack that houses any tads or juvenile frogs I might have. The temps normally vary between 72 and 78F during the day and 68 and 72F at night. Other than the oak-leaf tea, I don't use mould inhibitors. I have used this method with my leucs, with much success.

2. The frogs were 3 months old after metamorphosis and were raised together, so it is possible that they are related. I didn't confirm with the seller whether they were related or just unrelated frogs that were raised together.

3. I pulled the eggs after 48hrs, based on reading several care sheets that suggested the eggs remain in the enclosure for 24-48hrs after deposition, to ensure that fertilization had taken place.

4. I normally feed them every other day, and dust with Repashy Calcium Plus every time. I also dust with Repashy Vit A Plus every other week (I used to dust once a week for one month when I started). When I dust with the Vit A Plus, I don't dust with the Calcium Plus. I supplement with pinhead crickets and fruit fly maggots every two weeks. I might start supplementing with these food items once a week and see if that helps. I would like to find more insects to use, but there aren't many options where I live. 

I wish my eggs were "stupidly good".


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## jknight (Jun 25, 2009)

dartguy said:


> To answer your questions.....
> 
> 1. After I pull the eggs, I transfer them to an incubation container. It is a plastic food container with a few, small holes drilled through the lid and i small hole drilled through each side of the container, for some ventilation. I also place moistened paper towels on the bottom to keep the humidity level high. I also lightly mist the eggs using dechlorinated tap water and oak-leaf tea. The container is kept on the top of the rack that houses any tads or juvenile frogs I might have. The temps normally vary between 72 and 78F during the day and 68 and 72F at night. Other than the oak-leaf tea, I don't use mould inhibitors. I have used this method with my leucs, with much success.
> 
> ...



If I had one complaint about your methods it would be about the tap water... everything else sounds good. With some pairs it takes a long time for them to really "get it".. but they will eventually. Good luck!!


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## jeeperrs (Jan 14, 2010)

jknight said:


> If I had one complaint about your methods it would be about the tap water... everything else sounds good. With some pairs it takes a long time for them to really "get it".. but they will eventually. Good luck!!


I am not an experienced breeder but I have to agree with this. I honestly think that the lifespan of the frog illustrates the probability that it is a process that should take some time to develop. Kind of like comparing the fertility problems of 12 year olds compared to 22 year olds. Just because they can doesn't mean they should.


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## peres (May 22, 2012)

I am much not well experienced or skilled in breeders how to play with it.Last year used the supplement given my frogs along with the calcium +and vitamin A,this period was for a week.consequently their eggs would go bad,so I decided to feeding and stared supplements and found the results less would go bad.


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## Gamble (Aug 1, 2010)

dartguy said:


> To answer your questions.....
> 
> 1. After I pull the eggs, I transfer them to an incubation container. It is a plastic food container with a few, small holes drilled through the lid and i small hole drilled through each side of the container, for some ventilation. I also place moistened paper towels on the bottom to keep the humidity level high. I also lightly mist the eggs using dechlorinated tap water and oak-leaf tea. The container is kept on the top of the rack that houses any tads or juvenile frogs I might have. The temps normally vary between 72 and 78F during the day and 68 and 72F at night. Other than the oak-leaf tea, I don't use mould inhibitors. I have used this method with my leucs, with much success.
> 
> ...


Dont use tap water; start buying distilled.

Also, when u spray your eggs, dont spray directly on the eggs. Start off on the outside of the container with a LIGHT mist and then slowly sweep it across the container onto the eggs. I know someone that told me that every clutch they had went bad until they discovered that it was bc they were spraying the eggs directly.

You said you store your eggs on the top rack. Is this rack higher than chest level? If so, u might consider choosing a lower shelf.
Have u ever heard the saying: " Dont keep your bread on top of the fridge"?
The reason is bc the higher up you go, the higher the temperature and from what i was told at that height, it also increases the potential of mold spore concentration.

Good Luck.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Pull a male, and see if that improves your odds. I've had tincs trample eggs in vivaria when kept in more than a pair.


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## frogmanroth (May 23, 2006)

Gamble said:


> Dont use tap water; start buying distilled.
> 
> Also, when u spray your eggs, dont spray directly on the eggs. Start off on the outside of the container with a LIGHT mist and then slowly sweep it across the container onto the eggs. I know someone that told me that every clutch they had went bad until they discovered that it was bc they were spraying the eggs directly.
> 
> ...


Depends on your water source, I use tap water all the time, for eggs and tads. 


zBrinks said:


> Pull a male, and see if that improves your odds. I've had tincs trample eggs in vivaria when kept in more than a pair.


Yes pull your extra male and send it my way. 

How old are your supplements? I dust reptical herptavite, every time I feed, use vitamin A twice a month not weekly. 

Get repti-cal and herptavite use that in your rotation for dusting.


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## STRASSTN (May 30, 2012)

peres said:


> I am much not well experienced or skilled in breeders how to play with it.Last year used the supplement given my frogs along with the calcium +and vitamin A,this period was for a week.consequently their eggs would go bad,so I decided to feeding and stared supplements and found the results less would go bad.


I'm confused, what and when were you supplementing/not?


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