Help please! Eggs pipped, but they aren't coming out!

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are first time breeders. We wanted to start with some regular ball pythons to see how we did.

To avoid verifying obvious info, our process was as follows;
- Both male and female were appropriate weight to start
- We successfully produced a clutch of 5 fertile eggs, no slugs
- We took them from the female and placed in moist vermiculite substrate, buried about ½ way
- We did not shake, role, flip or otherwise disrupt the contents
- We have kept them in an incubator at 88°F
- After 56 days, we were advised it was okay to cut the eggs, but we waited until day 58 (none had pipped on their own, which was a concern, but we had also read that it was dangerous to let them go over 60 days)
- Without removing the eggs from their substrate, we gently cut a section about the size of a toonie off each, careful not to tear the amniotic sac or veins
- Then we waited for them to emerge
- We have continued keeping them in the incubator (it circulates air from the room, so no, they are not being deprived of oxygen)

We have now been waiting 5 days. We can see that they are alive (moving in their eggs) but none are coming out. The amniotic fluid is becoming cloudy and starting to smell. We decided to sacrifice one and try helping him out. We rinsed him but did not cut the umbilical cord from the yolk sac and placed him in a small container with a moist paper towel. He died. We have spoken to a friend who breeds hundreds and says he has never had this problem. I am afraid they might all die if they don’t soon come out on their own.

Has anyone else had this happen? We are open to any advice people might have. I am going to be very sad if we lose them all! :(

Leave them alone!!!!!! they will come out once they absorb their yolk, they are fine.

just add some saline solution to the coudy eggs, just make sure it's the same temp as the eggs.

btw Welcome to BP.net :colbert2:
Now that you are here and patiently waitiing for your babies to emerge, I suggest reading through the breeding forum, you will finds tons of helpful info.

I cut mine on day 52 and the last one didn't leave the egg until day 61. I incubated at 89 though not sure if the one degree could push them back a few more days. I am sure the more experienced will chime in soon. Good luck

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

I went through the same thing with mine.

What I did was to keep flushing the eggs with purified water daily. This keeps bacterial growth down and gives the babies time to finish developing. If yours are already starting to smell, this means that bacteria is already taking over.

Fill an empty needle-less syringe with purified water or Ringer's Lactate if you can find it. Flush each egg gently with the solution. Once you have rinsed out each egg, gently make a small nick in the membrane and let the fluid begin to drain. The babies won't start to metabolize their yolk until they start breathing air.

Place the clean eggs on wet paper towels in a clean container and place it back in the incubator. Twice a day, use the syringe to gently moisten the eggs and babies, being careful not to fill the eggs too full or too suddenly so you don't accidentally drown a baby. The eggs must stay moist. Change the paper towels and wash the container every two days.

In a few short days, the babies will metabolize their yolks and hatch. I did this exact thing, and have 5 healthy babies now.

Gale

Ball pythons will stay in the egg another 5-10 days after slitting. just leave them alone and they will emerge. dont ever remove a baby from the egg as you have found out, they can die.
adam jeffery

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angllady2

I went through the same thing with mine.

What I did was to keep flushing the eggs with purified water daily. This keeps bacterial growth down and gives the babies time to finish developing. If yours are already starting to smell, this means that bacteria is already taking over.

Fill an empty needle-less syringe with purified water or Ringer's Lactate if you can find it. Flush each egg gently with the solution. Once you have rinsed out each egg, gently make a small nick in the membrane and let the fluid begin to drain. The babies won't start to metabolize their yolk until they start breathing air.

Place the clean eggs on wet paper towels in a clean container and place it back in the incubator. Twice a day, use the syringe to gently moisten the eggs and babies, being careful not to fill the eggs too full or too suddenly so you don't accidentally drown a baby. The eggs must stay moist. Change the paper towels and wash the container every two days.

In a few short days, the babies will metabolize their yolks and hatch. I did this exact thing, and have 5 healthy babies now.

Gale

---

:gj::gj: Good advice!

Thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated! :gj:

We will definately go ahead and rinse them then, I was scared it would hurt them!

Looking forward to chatting and learning more in the forums :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by candicem

thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated! :gj:

We will definately go ahead and rinse them then, i was scared it would hurt them!

Looking forward to chatting and learning more in the forums :)

---

i am going through this same thing! Great advice everyone!

60 days to me is the norm Inc period. I leave mine completely Alone and let them pip. Sometimes us humans get in our own way. This year my first clutch of the year was incd at 88-89 they pipped on their own at 64 days out in 24-48 hours. Years before I've had them go to 65. But most hatch around 60. I hate cutting and I avoid at all costs. The only time i will is if everyone else has pipped and 1-2 haven't and days have gone by. Impatience is the only true reason to cut really before actually knowing there's an issue. If they haven't cut the egg and the eggs are candling fine, everyone is fine. Lower temps will lengthen your Inc time. Higher temps lower it.
I look at it this way. Even though I'm truly excited to see my little ones come out. I beleive that more issues can be caused by cutting too early. Look at all the work. Flushing etc. Bacteria growth etc. I prefer to let them do their most important event of their lives and thats pipping.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Babies usually stay in their eggs several days after they pip on their own. They're spending this time absorbing the yolk. If you cut them prematurely (before they pip on their own) it could be several additional days or weeks (depending on how "early" the eggs were cut) of waiting before they will emerge. Just be patient.

I have to say, though, I've never heard anyone say that it's dangerous to let eggs go over 60 days. Eggs all develop differently according to the temperature that they are incubated. The earliest I've ever had eggs hatch was day 53 and the latest has been day 67, both times pipping on their own. I'd say any notion of danger after 60 days is grossly exaggerated. It's the same with human pregnancies. We have a tendency to say that someone is "overdue" or "early" if gestation is not exactly following the guidelines set by a book when in most cases the baby comes when it's ready to come. The same can be said of eggs. They'll come when they're ready to come. ;)

They just weren't ready yet. I dont cut until after the first baby pips. Cutting too soon and you run the risk of them not being ready. Then you have to keep it moist inside the egg until they are done developing. Never just pull a baby out. They come out after they finish absorbing the yolk.