Hey bill! Recently, my decuideye found an egg and has been caring for it well. But, after looking up the egg’s patterns, the egg might be an actual rowlet. I asked around if anyone lost the egg, but no one did. My biggest concern though is that the egg has been uncomfortably cold and pretty dormant. Me and decuideye can warm it up to a safe level, but that doesn’t make it active at all. I don’t remember if I’ve ever even heard s heart beat. Is it too late to save it?

Unless the egg had been frozen solid at one point, there still may be a chance. However, to find out for certain, you will want to use a process called candling. (This is a handy process for any would-be breeder, incidentally, as it’s how you can tell whether or not an egg is viable.)

Now, there are commercial candling lamps available on the market, but in a pinch, you can create one at home by using a box and a desk lamp with as bright a bulb as it can handle. Cut a hole in the box large enough for the bottom of your egg to fit into snugly. Then, place your lamp in the box and turn it on. Fit the egg in the hole you’ve cut and turn off all other lights in the room.

By this point, the egg should be illuminated all the way through by the lamp inside the box, and as a result, you should see indicators that will tell you whether or not the egg is viable.

If you don’t see anything inside the egg, then it’s either not fertilized or too early in its development for this technique to work. You may wish to wait a week before trying again.

If you see a dark mass inside the egg, visible blood vessels, and/or a lighter spot at the base of the egg, then it’s viable. Place it inside an incubator and keep it warm mechanically until it hatches. I wouldn’t recommend giving it to your decidueye or attempting to warm it up yourself, as you’ll need a consistent source of heat to revive it and carry it through until hatching.

If, however, you see a dark, red circle inside the egg (perhaps accompanied by the traits listed above), then the embryo had actually died, sorry to say. Discard it discreetly to avoid upsetting your decidueye.