post egg cut care/question

So got my first clutch going and I cut on day 58 and all looks well. Questions at this point are about how long should i expect the snakes to stay in the egg(im thinking up to 5 days)? Should I wait until they are all out to remove the vermiculite or place the eggs on a paper towel now? And is it normal for them to start to smell after you cut? I use the press and seal on my lids and im opening at least twice a day for air exchange, once in the morning once at night. Thanks for any advice.

I put the eggs on wet paper towels as soon as the begin sticking their heads out because I use light diffusers on top of the vermiculite and i don't want them coming out on that. Once they leave the egg I put them on damp paper towels in their own containers. I do not have humidity problems so I have never used press and seal so I can't really comment on that. I do not cut until the first one pips. They are all usually out within two days from the time the first one pips.

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Originally Posted by lakast76

So got my first clutch going and I cut on day 58 and all looks well. Questions at this point are about how long should i expect the snakes to stay in the egg(im thinking up to 5 days)? Should I wait until they are all out to remove the vermiculite or place the eggs on a paper towel now? And is it normal for them to start to smell after you cut? I use the press and seal on my lids and im opening at least twice a day for air exchange, once in the morning once at night. Thanks for any advice.

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Congrats on your first clutch! The time any hatchling will remain in the egg is variable. But it can be 5 days and give or take days will depend on a couple of factors. The main factor being has the hatchling absorbed all of the yolk sac, is the animal truly healthy over the incubation period is another consideration. You can wait until they all emerge before moving them onto moist paper towel however if you cut the eggs and they are exposed you may want to consider changing them sooner than later. No , it's not normal for them to smell after you cut. Remember you should only make a reasonably small slit/ flap as your cut so as to reduce the exposure. Even with press and seal, after day 55 or 58 you only need to vent the tub every few days and not twice a day. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Congrats on your first clutch! The time any hatchling will remain in the egg is variable. But it can be 5 days and give or take days will depend on a couple of factors. The main factor being has the hatchling absorbed all of the yolk sac, is the animal truly healthy over the incubation period is another consideration. You can wait until they all emerge before moving them onto moist paper towel however if you cut the eggs and they are exposed you may want to consider changing them sooner than later. No , it's not normal for them to smell after you cut. Remember you should only make a reasonably small slit/ flap as your cut so as to reduce the exposure. Even with press and seal, after day 55 or 58 you only need to vent the tub every few days and not twice a day. Good luck.

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I agree, what he said. I would not mess with them at all. If none have their heads out, check on them once every two or three days. When they start to stick out their heads, check one time per day. If the tub is clear, you may not have to even open the tub to check. Once a baby is out, remove it to wet paper towels. The egg shell may turn a yellow color just before the baby comes out or if the baby dies in the egg. Smelling bad may mean one or more of the babies have died. I had two die in the egg during the last two weeks of incubation this year so that does happen. My eggs usually pip around day 60 but I had one stay in for 70 days. She was healthy but emerged several days after the others in the clutch. I only cut after the first one or two pip on their own and make the slit very tiny. You can candle the cut eggs that you think smell. If the veins are gone, and the baby has not piped, it probably died. Post pictures when they are out.

Thanks for all the helpful advise, I will definitely be waiting to cut next time until they pip. I basically cut this time because I did have one die during incubation and it had a kinked neck, day 58 got here and I got nervous. I was probably to aggressive when i cut because i cut big windows in the eggs, I didn't cut any major vessels though and I can tell all the snakes are alive. One of the little ones is coming out of the egg this morning so I think Ill move them all to a tub with damp paper towel this morning and Ill stop the 2 times a day venting. Ill post pics as soon as i can get them into this computer, thats another issue lol

So just to give an update for those that might be interested and once again thanks for all the input. My babies all came out within about two days expect the smallest one. I had moved the eggs to paper towels like stated above and I believe the smell was just some egg fluid that fell into the bedding. Anyway the runts egg was knocked over and was found upside down after the others came out of their eggs. He was alive and moving prior to this event. All the babies are in the hatchling rack at this point and will have their first meals on Friday. So far I have 2 BEL, 2 lessers, and 3 Mojaves. The unfortunate runt was a normal and only had one eye at that. The one lost in the egg I believe was a Mojave. Im still fighting with this pc and phone to get the photos loaded but once i get that straight Ill post pics.

Glad to hear most of them made it:gj:

Sounds like a good clutch! Congrats!

sorry its been awhile since ive updated this post. Anyway I finally got pics on the pc but cant seem to find the option for attaching a pic to this thread. Anyone know how to do this?

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures