Never heard of this before...

I had 4 clutches of bp eggs this year. The first cinny x normal pipped on day 59 and out by 60, all doing great. The second pastel x normal I cut on day 58, and out on 60, all doing great. The third is the problem, spider x normal. I cut on day 56. Today is day 60. None look like they're gonna come out in the next few days, but one of the spiders and one normal had maggots crawling all over them, but all are alive. I hated to do it, but i had to do something. I removed the 3 that did not have any on them and put them into a clean tub. The other 2... there were so many maggots on them I knew if I left them alone they had no chance at all, so i took them out of their eggs. I rinsed all of the maggots off of them and put each of them in their own tub. They are alive but there is ALOT of yolk left. The umbilicals are not kinked and I'll keep them as damp as possible. I don't expect them to make it. :( Has anyone else had this happen to them? I will not be cutting the 4th clutch. It was my pastel female x cinny, spider, and pastel. It is on day 57.

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Originally Posted by chromeitout

I had 4 clutches of bp eggs this year. The first cinny x normal pipped on day 59 and out by 60, all doing great. The second pastel x normal I cut on day 58, and out on 60, all doing great. The third is the problem, spider x normal. I cut on day 56. Today is day 60. None look like they're gonna come out in the next few days, but one of the spiders and one normal had maggots crawling all over them, but all are alive. I hated to do it, but i had to do something. I removed the 3 that did not have any on them and put them into a clean tub. The other 2... there were so many maggots on them I knew if I left them alone they had no chance at all, so i took them out of their eggs. I rinsed all of the maggots off of them and put each of them in their own tub. They are alive but there is ALOT of yolk left. The umbilicals are not kinked and I'll keep them as damp as possible. I don't expect them to make it. :( Has anyone else had this happen to them? I will not be cutting the 4th clutch. It was my pastel female x cinny, spider, and pastel. It is on day 57.

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Maggots? Did you leave the lid open after (or even before) cutting which could have allowed such exposure to flies?

No, only when I was actually cutting them. The maggots were tiny. Had to be from some kind of gnat. Just checked on them. The spider is dead. The normal is still alive for now.

Wild, never heard of it before :confused:

The normal has passed now as well, and the other 3 now have the same issue.

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Originally Posted by chromeitout

The normal has passed now as well, and the other 3 now have the same issue.

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Oh wow, sorry for the loss.

wow thats crazy......hmmmm sorry for your loss something to look up now

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre...ctions-part-1/


this may be the issue just found it hope it helps

I had a similar problem with a clutch of corn snake eggs last year. Shortly after the eggs began pipping, I noticed there were tiny larvae of some sort crawling around the eggs' slits. They did look like tiny fly maggots. I didn't do anything except brush away what I saw and removed eggs as soon as the babies left them because the larvae/worms/whatever they were were quick to enter the shells and feed on whatever goo was left behind in there. It was a nasty experience but thankfully none of the corns were lost and I haven't had that problem since.

I'm sorry some of your babies didn't make it. :(

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Originally Posted by JEWSKIN

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre...ctions-part-1/


this may be the issue just found it hope it helps

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Interesting read, but if this is the same... i just proved him wrong with his "not attacking healthy eggs". I'm going to leave the other 3 alone to see if they emerge on their own. I don't understand why they are taking so long compared to the first 2 clutches anyway... today is day 64 I believe. The pastel clutch is on day 61 and has not pipped either...???

Oh, I wanted to mention too... I actually incubated the eggs in an air tight container until I cut them. I then moved them to a 6qt sterilite which is not air tight... I won't ever do this again, even though I see alot of you using them. And for the record I did clutch #2 this way as well, which turned out fine.

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Originally Posted by chromeitout

Oh, I wanted to mention too... I actually incubated the eggs in an air tight container until I cut them. I then moved them to a 6qt sterilite which is not air tight... I won't ever do this again, even though I see alot of you using them. And for the record I did clutch #2 this way as well, which turned out fine.

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well so far the link i found is the only one thus far still looking though

Well, I caught the culprit. Sorry the pic is a bit out of focus.
Looks evil doesn't it...

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...eitout/fly.jpg

Wow, that's pretty crazy. I'm sorry for your loss! I definitely see those little flies in my snake room, but I've never seen them on any of my eggs.

Maggots!!!! How did they get them in the first place? I mean you have them in a incubator correct?

I have had that happen one time for me. It was a het albino clutch. They all survived.

I will tell you what they are. They are a type of fruit fly. They are in most peoples collection and they can be a pain in the butt to get rid of. They usually feed on fecal matter but they love egg fluid. When you cut an egg and one of these little guys gets into your incubator they will find the cut egg and lay eggs. The maggots will not feed on living tissue but they will feed on any dead tissue or (egg white)... the issue is these little guys leave waste matter in the egg with your snake that can cause infection and tissue damage to your baby. As the tissue dies off the maggots will feed on the parts of the dieing snake.

When I cut my eggs I always throw a wet paper towel over the slit to keep any of the flies from having any access to the egg. It is also bad when people cut eggs way too early and the eggs gets overrun by these insects. Al it takes is one to get into a tiny hole in your incubator. Hope this advice helps.

Joe Ellis

Geez. Another thing to worry about. I am glad this was brought up. Thanks.

OP: Sorry about your losses.

The 2 remaining normals finally came out of their eggs and will likely be fine. The spider came out but had some yolk left yesterday. Today he was detached from the remaining yolk and is a bit weak... I can only cross my fingers.

Thanks for the update. I hope the spider pulls through for you.


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well hmm I would say every snake owner that doesn't keep bugs or arachnids should keep no pest strips around they kill all bugs and are safe for snakes they do wonders for mites even on substrate but again only if you do not keep arachnids or bugs......


http://www.hotshotbrand.com/ProductC...s/NoPestStrip/


product is awesome!

That is crazy! The container could not be air tight or the flies would not be able to get in. Sorry for your loss OP!!!

Another good reason to let BP eggs pip themselves IMO :rolleyes:

Just to update this clutch... The remaining 3 look like they'll be fine :). I was worried about the little spider since it didnt absorb nearly all of the yolk, but it shed and ate a big mouse fuzzy yesterday:D.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...ut/spider1.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...ut/spider2.jpg

such a pretty baby