Have you ever wondered why they collapse?

I have a clutch ready to pip any day now. Its day 54 and I have always wondered what role it plays for the egg and the baby that the egg begins to collapse in the last few days. Could it be some signal to the baby that they need to push out? Maybe a chemical reaction induced by the veins releasing from the wall of the shell and the membrain breaking open? Or maybe its just caused by the added heat coming from the eggs which causes the extra condensation in the box in the last week or 2. Does anyone else have any theories or explaination for this? I wonder about the strangest things.

No i can't answer your question but this does spike some curiosity in my mind. Mother nature works in weird weird ways.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

I have a clutch ready to pip any day now. Its day 54 and I have always wondered what role it plays for the egg and the baby that the egg begins to collapse in the last few days. Could it be some signal to the baby that they need to push out? Maybe a chemical reaction induced by the veins releasing from the wall of the shell and the membrain breaking open? Or maybe its just caused by the added heat coming from the eggs which causes the extra condensation in the box in the last week or 2. Does anyone else have any theories or explaination for this? I wonder about the strangest things.

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I believe it has to do with the baby absorbing all the yolk. Therefor, the egg collapses.

My guess on the added condensaton is the fact that the eggs become semi-permeable during the last few weeks allowing for the evaporation of the whites in order to make room for the oxygen the baby needs to breathe. Just my guesses though.

Don't have a a scientific answer but....
What I think happens is since the babies inside the egg are starting to absorb their yolk their becomes room inside the egg. I think of it like drinking out of a can. when you take a sip of a drink you are emptying the can of the drink and it is being replaced by oxygen. My theory with the egg is since the yolk is being absorbed oxygen is trying to replace the empty space inside of the egg but this causes the egg to collapse under the pressure.
Now, all that I have said is just a thought, it might be somewhat true it might not. Maybe someone else with more insight could shed some light .

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Originally Posted by twistedtails

My guess on the added condensaton is the fact that the eggs become semi-permeable during the last few weeks allowing for the evaporation of the whites in order to make room for the oxygen the baby needs to breathe. Just my guesses though.

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Thats a really good theory. I never thought of it that way but it makes sense. Also the yolk comment makes sense too. Since they dont really start to collapse until just the last few days when the baby would be absorbing all the yolk. It must just be chain reaction of events. The shell being more permeable would also make it easier for the baby to pip through it. Plus collapsing a little brings it closer to the baby which would get tired of not having any room to move so it busts out lol.

The added condensation comes from the fact that the eggs heat up during the final weeks of development from the increased metabolism of the almost completely developed snake. I assumed the collapse is from the developing snake absorbing fluid and yolk from the egg as it grows and metabolism increases.

Condensation only occurs when the temps differ from the inside of a sealed area (like an egg box or a car) to the outside temps. Since eggs heat up at the end it tends to cause more condensation. I like to put my almost ready to pip eggs at the bottom of my bator where its a bit cooler because of this.

In the days before the baby gets ready to pip, the egg itself becomes porous. 100% humidity in the egg, less than 100% humidity outside of the egg.
It's simple osmosis.