Down side to breeding,

You definitely should not have removed them from the eggs!

Over the years I have had quite a few eggs leak...Patched them up and they were fine...One egg I just packed a bunch of Vermiculite around the slit and it hatched fine!

I remember ripping two eggs pulling them apart after they were laid...I put masking tape over each hole and they hatched fine...The masking tape did mold up a little by the time they hatched.

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Originally Posted by DeadGirlSuperstar

i know the feeling this has been my first year breeding and have not had the best run of luck - 2 babies dead in eggs, 3 dead after emerging from eggs and 10 eggs bad in incubator :( i have had the same thoughts about not breeding as i didnt know how many more little bodies i could deal with it really is heartbreaking to lose them.

as you said sometimes you need to do something to help them, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt but at least you know you gave the wee ones the best chance at life. i hope your luck changes soon, mine has recently and it totally makes up for all the crappy stuff to have little babies doing well, but the thought of that doesnt make any difference when you are faced with another little baby that didnt make it. keep your chin up and keep trying, you will get there eventually and it is worth all the heartache when things turn out right :) xx

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Thanks, These things happen unfortunately I guess its meant to be.

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Originally Posted by TROYG

Sorry for the bad luck, but don't give up.

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Thanks.

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Sorry to hear that, breeding definitely has its ups and downs.

How did they get slit underneath? Sorry maybe you said, but I'm confused.

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I am still trying to figure that one out myself to be honest, Every single egg was slit under neath at least an inch and it was literally like having a cracked chicken egg in your hand. The clutch was all bunched together too so made things very very hard to try and even think about repairing them :( I did move during incubation but I'm still not sure what would of caused them to split to that degree. The only thing i can think is that they tried hatching upside down but I've never heard of that before.

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

How deflated were they that made you cut them so early?
Maybe you did more harm than good cutting them open, deflating is a normal part of the process.
My last clutch started deflating at day 43-44 and were very deflated when they pipped on their own at day 54.

Sorry for your loss, it comes with the territory unfortunately :(

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They weren't deflating as if they were about to hatch they were deflating due to the sheer amount of white lost through the slits and would of gone dry and caused them to suffocate inside. I have bred other reptiles before so understand about them deflating etc before hatching and the thinning of the shells. One that I cut open didn't contain any fluid at all and the snake was drying out inside already.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I'm so sorry this happened. :(
Better luck next time.

You can patch up the slits with super glue and a small piece of saran wrap if it happens again. And top the egg off with saline or distilled water if there is fluid loss.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

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Hmm I didn't think I could use super glue with snake eggs I used to use it for cuts on myself if they were deep but was told by the wife never to do it again :(
If I could of topped them up I would of but the slits were at the bottom which made it so hard to even consider repairing them.

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Originally Posted by Brandon Osborne

Sorry for your loss. Keeping a few old egg shells around can help in these situations. Sometimes eggs will swell to the point of splitting and leaking egg fluid. Old eggs can be cut into patches and placed on the split. All you need is a little water to moisten the patch and it will stick on its own.

I think cutting and pulling the hatchlings at such an early stage is what did them in. If left in the eggs, they probably would have been just fine. Nature has a way of fixing things we wouldn't expect. Good luck with the future breedings.

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I wish I knew this trick before chucking the eggs :( I will keep them for sure when I get anymore. I would of prefered to leave them but it was a case of take them out or leave them to die and dry out I didn't know how bad they were inside until after cutting :( It wasn't like I cut them and dragged them out I did small cuts first and assessed the problem then decided to pull to give them the best possible chance the bottoms of the eggs where past the point of being repaired. Thanks for the best wishes though :)

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

You definitely should not have removed them from the eggs!

Over the years I have had quite a few eggs leak...Patched them up and they were fine...One egg I just packed a bunch of Vermiculite around the slit and it hatched fine!

I remember ripping two eggs pulling them apart after they were laid...I put masking tape over each hole and they hatched fine...The masking tape did mold up a little by the time they hatched.

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Thanks for that, Like I have stated above it was a case of do it or let them die and I wasn't going to leave it to chance when I knew I could try something. I knew it was a 50/50 chance and I was willing to take it because I didn't want to be sitting there thinking what if. These eggs weren't just leaking they were pouring out literally like someone had cracked an egg open and the yolk and white just slid straight out. I assessed it and if I could of repaired them I would of, BUT with the sheer amount of moisture and fluid coming out nothing would stick to them I would of had to turned the eggs upside down to stop them leaking the entire clutch which in turn would of caused them to drown anyway with the fluid that was left.

My main concern was if I left them bacteria would set in and kill them off and they would of just dried out without being able to top them up would of been mission impossible. Although I would be interested to know what causes these slits they aren't tiny they were literally an inch or so long like someone had a stanley knife blade to them.

I have another three eggs in the incubator from a different clutch which have tiny V shaped slits on them which are due on the 22nd I have managed to stop the oozing on them and IF I could of done the same with the others then I would have.

I haven't shared my experience to be flamed or to be told you shouldn't of done this you shouldn't of done that because IF People were in the position I was facing I would hope they would do everything they could to save them even if it means pulling them. These things happen in life and yes its a learning curve would I do anything differently I don't know but what I do know is it happened and its been a rough weekend but I do know that I hope to never have to face this sort of choice again. I will put up photos in a moment on a seperate thread so that people can see the hatchlings they weren't deformed or uncoloured if anything they looked perfect.

I think most of us that have done this numerous times have been in your position, nobody is flaming you, just questioning why you did what you did so we can all learn from it, which is what sharing this information is about I assume.
Thank you for sharing!

Sadly when pulled them from the egg, if they aren't breathing on their own already, they just don't make it, or at least that's been my experience.

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I think most of us that have done this numerous times have been in your position, nobody is flaming you, just questioning why you did what you did so we can all learn from it, which is what sharing this information is about I assume.
Thank you for sharing!

Sadly when pulled them from the egg, if they aren't breathing on their own already, they just don't make it, or at least that's been my experience.

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Maybe so but considering I was told I should not of pulled them out the eggs seems to be a bit harsh IMO and considering the circumstances a bit out of order. If I didn't want people to learn I wouldn't of posted it. After all this is how we all learn by trial and error and we learn by each others mistakes.

The seemed like they were going to be ok they were breathing on their own etc, Its a sad day but one of those things unfortunately.

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Originally Posted by Tempestas

Maybe so but considering I was told I should not of pulled them out the eggs seems to be a bit harsh IMO and considering the circumstances a bit out of order. If I didn't want people to learn I wouldn't of posted it. After all this is how we all learn by trial and error and we learn by each others mistakes.

The seemed like they were going to be ok they were breathing on their own etc, Its a sad day but one of those things unfortunately.

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You absolutely should NOT have pulled them out of the eggs. You can actually spray them with distilled water to keep them moist. We learned the hard way on one of our first clutches a long time ago about pulling them out too soon. I think it was our second clutch ever. We cut them on day 46 and didn’t know NOT to cut the egg sack. We cut the eggs open and cut the sacks. They still had a LOT of yolk left and were doing good. After a week or so the fluids started to get all nasty grey/green looking inside the eggs. We got worried and pulled them out of the eggs, but they still had probably 4-5 days worth of yolk to absorb. Taking them out of the eggs was the worst thing to do. Unfortunately we lost the whole clutch and learned a valuable lesson. Now we know not to cut the egg sack and to just leave them in the eggs.

Sorry for your loss of the clutch. I know the feeling and it sucks.

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Originally Posted by TessadasExotics

You absolutely should NOT have pulled them out of the eggs. You can actually spray them with distilled water to keep them moist. We learned the hard way on one of our first clutches a long time ago about pulling them out too soon. I think it was our second clutch ever. We cut them on day 46 and didn’t know NOT to cut the egg sack. We cut the eggs open and cut the sacks. They still had a LOT of yolk left and were doing good. After a week or so the fluids started to get all nasty grey/green looking inside the eggs. We got worried and pulled them out of the eggs, but they still had probably 4-5 days worth of yolk to absorb. Taking them out of the eggs was the worst thing to do. Unfortunately we lost the whole clutch and learned a valuable lesson. Now we know not to cut the egg sack and to just leave them in the eggs.

Sorry for your loss of the clutch. I know the feeling and it sucks.

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Either you don't understand or you haven't read the full thread!

HOW CAN I SPRAY SOMETHING WHEN THE SLITS WERE UNDERNEATH THE EGGS!!! The water would of just fallen straight out of the egg trust me I did the best possible thing that I could of to try and give them a chance! Please be aware that the photographs that I have put up were of them after they had died approx eight hours after I cut the umbilical cord to the egg sack after they had died so the photographs didn't look gruesome even more. They looked dehydrated because there was not much point in keeping dead snakes moist !

It was a matter of do or don't there wasn't much fluid left in the eggs to top up even if I could of stopped the holes but it was near on impossible because the eggs were so wet due to the fluid soaking them! Also considering that the clutch were eight eggs piled and stuck together it would of meant separating them all without them splitting anymore, turning them upside down sealing the inch across holes cutting the tops and then filling them up with water.

People say to of poured water into the eggs but imagine a cup with a hole at the bottom what will happen when you fill that cup up ? It will just pour straight out! I put this post up to educate and to share my experiences. I did not put this post up to be jumped on because people can't be bothered to read correctly. Forgive me if I seem uptight but this hobby means more to me than anything and to loose eight beautiful babies is a devastating ordeal, I did what I felt needed to be done to give them the best possible chance after all keeping them inside the eggs would of ended up killing them anyway at least I can say I tried to help them. This is just meant to be fate at it's worst but theres nothing that can change that now.

I had a friend that knew someone that had cut too early and butchered the egg beyond repair. They placed the hatchling with yoke sac into a baby food jar with some saline and he made it! Just food for thought for the future. Sorry you lost the clutch...

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

You definitely should not have removed them from the eggs!

Over the years I have had quite a few eggs leak...Patched them up and they were fine...One egg I just packed a bunch of Vermiculite around the slit and it hatched fine!

I remember ripping two eggs pulling them apart after they were laid...I put masking tape over each hole and they hatched fine...The masking tape did mold up a little by the time they hatched.

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I agree with jon
the egg aid in helping to supply oxygen.
you will have weak clutches of eggs, ones with kinks and other problems that comes with breeding snakes. but when you see healthy hatchlings pipping, it makes it all worth it. any mistakes learn for it. we all make them. don't give up.

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Originally Posted by Tempestas

Either you don't understand or you haven't read the full thread!

HOW CAN I SPRAY SOMETHING WHEN THE SLITS WERE UNDERNEATH THE EGGS!!! The water would of just fallen straight out of the egg trust me I did the best possible thing that I could of to try and give them a chance! Please be aware that the photographs that I have put up were of them after they had died approx eight hours after I cut the umbilical cord to the egg sack after they had died so the photographs didn't look gruesome even more. They looked dehydrated because there was not much point in keeping dead snakes moist !

It was a matter of do or don't there wasn't much fluid left in the eggs to top up even if I could of stopped the holes but it was near on impossible because the eggs were so wet due to the fluid soaking them! Also considering that the clutch were eight eggs piled and stuck together it would of meant separating them all without them splitting anymore, turning them upside down sealing the inch across holes cutting the tops and then filling them up with water.

People say to of poured water into the eggs but imagine a cup with a hole at the bottom what will happen when you fill that cup up ? It will just pour straight out! I put this post up to educate and to share my experiences. I did not put this post up to be jumped on because people can't be bothered to read correctly. Forgive me if I seem uptight but this hobby means more to me than anything and to loose eight beautiful babies is a devastating ordeal, I did what I felt needed to be done to give them the best possible chance after all keeping them inside the eggs would of ended up killing them anyway at least I can say I tried to help them. This is just meant to be fate at it's worst but theres nothing that can change that now.

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Actually I think it is you that doesn't understand, and it's quite sad.
I understand and have read the FULL thread. No one is "jumping" on you because they did not read correctly. You say your trying to educate? How about you listen to the commenters on this thread instead of flipping out? We are trying to educate YOU! What have you learned from this mishap? Nothing, if you don't listen to others that have dealt with similar situations already. If this hobby means so much to you then you need to relax and listen to the ones that have experience. Keeping them in the eggs was the ONLY thing that should have been done. Being ripped out is what killed them. Point blank. Lesson learned. You could have posted when the problem was occurring and gotten sound advice. Even though they were loosing fluid, they could have been patched or misted frequently to keep them hydrated. It really bothers me that you are the one jumping on anyone who has tried to give you advice.

I think this thread may evolving into something it was not intended to be.

I am sorry for your lost balls. May other new breeders learn from this thread and the advice offered. It does sound like a case of anxiousness, impatience and uninformed action. This can and does happen to many people jumping into new things or projects, a lot of it stems from wanting to do to much for them and not giving them a chance on their own. The advice given on patching up your eggs as needed is very helpful for many breeders, as was well as the baby food can make shift egg that shows real skill and ingenuity when it comes to breeding IMO.

On another note I started with growing plants, from my experience if you can grow a plant well, you can grow anything including ball python babies! They get you in tune with reading the needs of living things, the will to live of living things, and the patience required to reap what has been sown when it is ready.