cut on dat 52 or 54?

Im just wondering if I should cut on day 54 or 52. Ive been incubating at a constant 59.9 the whole time. I had a small issue with humidity a few weeks ago but got it fixed. day 54 is on the 30th

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Originally Posted by Raverthug

Im just wondering if I should cut on day 54 or 52. Ive been incubating at a constant 59.9 the whole time. I had a small issue with humidity a few weeks ago but got it fixed. day 54 is on the 30th

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I assume that temperature is a typo? :D

Cutting is really your call, but I usually wait until the first one pips - except with my latest clutch, when I cut @ day 54 since most of the eggs were bad. Some people cut as early as like day 40, others wait until the first pip or day 54-55 (whichever comes first). Personally I just get nervous about cutting too soon, since you'll then have to worry about keeping everything clean until they hatch.

I don't intend to cut if I ever get eggs. Balls have been hatching on their own for hundreds of thousands of years and they don't need us to help them out.

Every year I say I'm not going to cut, but day 55 rolls around I just have to take a peak! They usually don't come out until day 60-61 for me, then I'm back to saying "next year I won't cut until day 60.

True snakes have been hatching for thousands of years, but there has been snakes lost due to not getting out. I have not had this problem because by the time they come out I've got to whole top of the egg cut off.

yes that was a typo. Its supposed to be 89.9

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Originally Posted by MS2

Every year I say I'm not going to cut, but day 55 rolls around I just have to take a peak! They usually don't come out until day 60-61 for me, then I'm back to saying "next year I won't cut until day 60.

True snakes have been hatching for thousands of years, but there has been snakes lost due to not getting out. I have not had this problem because by the time they come out I've got to whole top of the egg cut off.

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I know that some people will disagree with me as they could potentially have a $1000+ snake in an egg, but as for me, if a snake can't make it out on their own then it is that way for a reason. If every snake that doesn't have the ability to make it out of an egg passes on it's same weak genes we could end up with snakes who's genes don't allow them to reproduce naturally, which has happened with some species of dogs. If they don't get out on their own then they don't get a shot a life. While keeping animals in captivity isn't natural I still believe in survival of the fittest, and if you can't get out of an egg on your own then your biological fitness = 0.

Bingo bang-O! The third option is don't cut at all, and if they are all meant to make it out on their own, they will. Cutting just weakens an already compromised ball python gene pool.
Most could care less about that fact because money money money!!!

What until one of the snakes pip than you can cut, I had two pip on day 57 and i cut the others, everyone came out in 2 days.

Personally, I will not cut unless all the others have pipped and come out first. At that point I may be cutting just to see what was lost, but I am with those that think things should occur naturally. We had our first clutch this year and didn't cut. All pipped between days 55 and 57 and all were out by day 58.

I know people are anxious to see what they have but I will say this again. Cutting will never change what is in the egg, but can severely effect what comes out. Yes, once in a while someone saves a baby with a twisted umbilicus. However, I have seen too many threads this year where the reality is that what the person ended up with was not a better result by cutting.

Just my $0.02

I cut once the first one pips, and take a peek to look for problems. A twisted umbilicus can be fixed, has nothing to do with a snake's genetics or fitness, and it would be a shame to lose an animal I could have saved from that.

I've found no higher rate of adverse incidents in snakes from cut eggs than in those that pip on their own. (Actually, the ones that tend to leap out of the egg too quickly are usually ones that pip by themselves).