dissapointed with hatch rate. I might have screwed up.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

My corn had 21 eggs.

3 of those eggs were infertile and turned black after a few days.

13 hatched out successfully over 4 days.

A day after all of the 13 were out, I cut the remaining 5 eggs that were still unslit. Before cutting, all 5 were still very hard and had not deflated at all. When I cut them it didn't look good because the snakes inside were obviously all way smaller then the rest of them... and 3 of them were almost completely white (the other two though had perfect coloring) waited 2 days and nothing... no movement and no heads sticking out.

I removed them from the eggs. All 5 were pretty well developed, but VERY skinny. All 5 still had what looked like all of their yolks left.... so for whatever reason they did not absorb hardly any of it. 2 of the snakes looked to be fully developed. Three of, to my surprise and horror were still barely alive. they would jerk their heads around, or move a bit. I put the 5 in their own tub and sprayed them... but this morning they were all totally dead.

Anywhoo, it is pretty hard to write this because it seems obvious to me that I may have killed some of the snakes by removing them from the eggs too early.... They were after all still alive. I don't know how they could have made it though being so skinny and weak, having not absorbed any of the yolk....



The cluster of 5 eggs on the bottom right of the picture were the 5 bad eggs. The tub was kept at about 82 degrees. using my 16 tub rbi hatchling rack with back heat (couldn't use my incubator because that is at 89 degrees for my BP eggs)

I am just upset and confused. How could all the others turn out so perfect? why was this particular group of eggs doomed?

Hold nothing back. Analyze away. You won't hurt my feelings. If you feel I did something wrong, share your thoughts so we can ALL learn from this sad story.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

correction... 4 of the group of 5 didn't make it... and the tiny round one.

[wilomn]

Sometimes they go almost all the way through an incubation before a life ending defect develops.

Could have been lung problems, spinal abnormalities even if the spine itself is not kinked.

Could have been all sorts of intestinal things that are late stage developers.

My guess is, since most hatched, that they just weren't right. I seriously doubt it had anything to do with anything you did.

Maybe the male got a tad warm just prior to mating, maybe his boys have kinked tails, maybe you just crapped out.

I have it happen often enough, or have over the years with animals that have had 100% hatch rates before and after, that I just don't sweat it.

It's going to happen if you work with them, any snake in fact, long enough.

[kc261]

Mike, I can't speak from experience, but from reading lots of posts about other people's experiences, sometimes eggs that look great just don't hatch, and others that look like they don't have a chance hatch out perfect babies. Since the majority of your clutch hatched out ok, I doubt it is anything you did.

Let's see pics of the healthy babies!

[Mike Cavanaugh]

thanks for the replies. I will try to post pics of the babies tonight.

[Blue Apple Herps]

Yeah, can be lots of things. Odd to have that many not hatch, but its very possible.

This probably wouldn't have made a difference in the smaller/weaker ones, but I usually wait a week before I cut open an egg. I've had several clutches that would hatch out over the course of several days. But by a week, if they're not out, there's something wrong.

But as others have said: PICTURES!!!!!!!

[PythonJosh]

Im sorry to hear that, must have been gutting to say the least