Eggs Suffocating?

My first clutch of eggs is supposed to hatch the last week of July or first week of August. The egg box is sealed... at what point do I open it? Am I supposed to open it before they hatch? Will they suffocate if they hatch and I don't notice it for a day?

Also, how long will they stay in the egg for? Do I put them each in their own box while they're still in their egg?

I know they whole process of breeding, incubating, and hatching, but it's the little random things I haven't got a clue about and they come to me at around midnight when nobody can answer me, lol.

I used to air my egg boxes out religiously starting at about two weeks before their hatch date by opening them and fanning air into them once a day. That worked well when I was producing around 20 clutches or so a year.

Once I started getting 30, 40, and 50+ clutches per year and having an over crowded incubator it got more and more difficult to get to each soon to be hatching egg box on a daily basis, so I quit airing them out ... they still hatch fine.

They take different amounts of time to come out of the egg ... some come right out ... some come out in a day ... some come out in 2 or 3 days ... just depends ... they'll be out on their own time ... I leave all of the hatchlings in the tub until the last baby emerges from the egg ... In my opinion, the stimulation of the other babies crawling around the tub and over the eggs encourages the other snakes to come out. Once I see the first egg pip, I remove the "press and seal" cover that makes my boxes "air tight" so that the babies have fresh air.

If you ever have questions in the middle of the night you can always give me a ring on my cell … 301-922-4959 … I’m always available to help a fellow ball python enthusiast! ;)

Hope this helps.

-adam

So basically, just be vigilant and quit worrying, lol. I kinda figured it would be like that... until there's the one question I don't ask and I lose a clutch... there I go worrying again. (Seriously Ken, worrying is a waste of your imagination)

Thanks for the help though. And you'll regret it if I call at 3am... unless it means a Lesser sale, hehe.

Oh, and I just checked out your myspace. Don't know if you hear it enough, but thank you. Semper Fi.

Adam, I was wondering if you opened your egg boxes weekly having all those clutches. Now I know and I'm not opening mine anymore b/c I'm sick of having to replace the press and seal. Thx