HELP! How do I get them to survive?

Hey guys, I can't find this answer anywhere on the internet and people who I ask won't help.
My female ball python laid eggs 63 days ago, they didn't hatch on their own and we didn't want them drown so we looked up tutorials on YouTube on how to cut them open. We got them open last night, and they're alive.
Today we checked back on them all day. None of them came out of the shells. They've moved around in the shell but not sticking their heads out. We noticed one isn't responding to anything and fear that it hasn't made it.
My question is, what do I do in order to keep the other 2 alive? I really want them to live but I don't know how. I can't find anything online about what's suppose to happen next. I really would like to know ASAP so I'm not up all night thinking about them :(

I'm not a breeder, I just have 3 ball pythons as pets and I've never done this before. This is my female's first 'clutch' and I didn't know she was pregnant in the first place, until the day I took her out to feed her and there was eggs.
I'll do anything for the babies to live!
Any help would be wonderful.
Thanks

What exactly are you doing to the one that isn't responding to anything? I know when I touch babies in the egg, they will move.

It sometimes takes babies almost a week to fully come out of the egg.

Is there still a lot of fluid in the eggs? What color is the fluid? Pictures would be extremely helpful!

Another question is how did the female get gravid in the first place? Are your snakes housed together? If so, now would be a good time to separate them, so this doesn't happen again! :O

I've never had eggs, but I know there are a lot of people here who have bred them successfully here who will help you!

It takes a day or two, they don't usually come out in the first 24 hours, although I have had them do so.
Let them be and they'll do their thing,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by heathers*bps

What exactly are you doing to the one that isn't responding to anything? I know when I touch babies in the egg, they will move.

It sometimes takes babies almost a week to fully come out of the egg.

Is there still a lot of fluid in the eggs? What color is the fluid? Pictures would be extremely helpful!

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I touch them with the tip of my finger to see if they're alive.

I don't know how much fluid is in the eggs, and I don't want the snakes to dry up. I don't have an incubator and I'm not sure what the temperature for them is suppose to be at the stage they're in.
This is where they are, in my garage. I live in Florida so the temperature during the day has been around 80-85, I added the light for more heat but I don't know if the light is drying them out?
This is what it looks like:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...s/DSC_1402.jpg

There's only 3 eggs. There was 4 at the beginning but one rotted within the first week.

The first 2 pictures are the 2 that are still moving when I touch them.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...s/DSC_1403.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...s/DSC_1404.jpg


This one is the one that isn't moving:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...s/DSC_1405.jpg


All 3
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...s/DSC_1406.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by purplemuffin

Another question is how did the female get gravid in the first place? Are your snakes housed together? If so, now would be a good time to separate them, so this doesn't happen again! :O

I've never had eggs, but I know there are a lot of people here who have bred them successfully here who will help you!

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I have a big cage that my boyfriend built for me, I have 2 normal ball pythons and an albino in it. 2 are males and 1 is a female.
I wouldn't mind breeding them one day (too late) but I'm apparently under-educated in it. & I didn't think the 2 males could get her pregnant because of how small they are :confused:
I've tried to read up on as much as I can about everything that I'd need to know, but can't seem too find a source that will help me out through everything.

Thanks for the pictures. It helped a lot!

The babies look good. I would let them be for now so they can do their own thing.

Is there a way you can get an exact temp in that tub?

Well, first off, I would check the caresheet we have on this page for ball pythons, it will give you a better idea on how to properly house these guys. It's never suggested to house them together. Two males can combat and possible kill each other, and there have even been extremely rare cases of ball pythons eating each other! Now these are rare, but not something you want to risk. Not to mention, if one gets sick, likely they will all be sick when together in one cage. Separating them will give the poor girl a rest so she doesn't get gravid again as well as keep them as stress free as possible.

Ball python care sheet
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

This is the temperature right now. The humidity is at 80, just forgot to take a picture of it.
I just feel like the light is going to dry them up.
I know I'm not doing the right things during this process (keeping the temp and humidity equal through out the last 2 months) but I can't afford an incubator just yet incase this happens again. I feel really terrible, but this is all I can do at the moment

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...t=DSC_1408.jpg

Hey! It took you by surprise, and now you will have experience and know what to do and not let it happen again until you are ready! :) The fact that they made it this far is awesome, and I hope they pull through for you! You'll have to take pictures when they are out, they look like they are gorgeous! :) I wonder who is the daddy? They could either be normals or 100% het albinos(unless the albino is the female?)

at this stage you can turn the light off. they are already developed and teh ambient temp will be just fine for the duration. hope the one little guy makes it, they usually move a little when poked with something. i usually poke them with tweezers to make sure they are ok, but dont mick with them too much. i would just let them be until they decide to come out.
as for how your housing them i would seriously reconsider separate housing.
adam jeffery

I really do appreciate you guys talking to me about this :)
I don't know anyone personally who knows a thing or two about baby snakes, or even snakes in general so I figured this would be my last hope - to find a ball python forum (which is working!) and seek out help. It really means a lot to me that you guys are taking the time to read this and answer me :) :)

My female I believe is 100% normal. I didn't even know she was a female until a year in that I had her. The reptile store I bought her from said she was a male, until I had her sex'd at a reptile show a year later. (she's now around 3-4 years old)
I believe the father is the albino (but he's almost a year old), because I'm pretty sure I saw them one day with their little tails wrapped around each other ._.
My other male I got at a reptile show and they said he was 100% het for pied (about 2 years old) :snake:
He looks pretty normal to me!

If the babies pull through, I'll definitely post some pictures. I really hope they do, I'll be the happiest person ever! *crosses fingers*

Some males can breed as young as 6 months old!

I will definitely be keeping my fingers crossed for your little ones. Welcome to bp.net, BTW :)

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Originally Posted by adamjeffery

at this stage you can turn the light off. they are already developed and teh ambient temp will be just fine for the duration. hope the one little guy makes it, they usually move a little when poked with something. i usually poke them with tweezers to make sure they are ok, but dont mick with them too much. i would just let them be until they decide to come out.
as for how your housing them i would seriously reconsider separate housing.
adam jeffery

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Separate housing - I just spoke with my boyfriend and he's agreed to turn the cage we have into sections for each of them so they're not together, or just build new cages for the 2 males.
My albino tends to hide in a different area of the cage ever since the eggs were laid. I don't think he likes being around the other male & female.

I definitely agree. Get some separators in that enclosure or completely separate them all together.

I would keep the light on for those snakes. You still need to reach their heating requirements as you do with any Ball.

Those holes you had cut are far too large and it seems a lot of the goo has leaked out. This can not be good as that can dry out the yolk sack.

Usually when incubated at cooler temps it will take longer for the snakes to hatch, so I would not worry. But I would worry about that cut you made. I would add a *little* bit of lukewarm water to each egg so the yolk does not dry out. They could be in those eggs for another week or so being incubated at lower temps.

And also, if a snake it HET for Pied, it means they carry the Pied allele but do not show it because the dominant trait (normal/wild type in this case) overpowers the recessive. If you bred that 100% het Pied to another 100% het Pied or a Pied (visual), you would get Pieds in the offspring. There are markers that can indicate being het for something, but they are not always correct as regular normals can display the markers as well.

If the father is an Albino, then your hatchlings are all 100% het Albino. But, since she was housed with another normal that she could have also bred with, they could just be normals. If you are interested in breeding in a few years, I would suggest holding back one of your hatchlings if one of them is female so you can breed her back to dad. If she is het Albino then you will get Albinos in the offspring being paired back to dad.

thanks for sharing these pictures and i wish you the best of luck!

If anyone could also answer this please -
Do I keep the humidity up in the box?
That one I'm still not sure on, but I keep misting it every few hours. :snake:

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Originally Posted by kellifrass

If anyone could also answer this please -
Do I keep the humidity up in the box?
That one I'm still not sure on, but I keep misting it every few hours. :snake:

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Your humidity seems fine in the box. Once theyre out of the egg you can place them in a clean tub on wet paper towels until they have their first shed

I have no idea why only 1 of the 3 survived, but I'm in love with him/her. Here he/she is.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...s/DSC_1433.jpg

A ball of cuteness!
I'm very sad the other 2 didn't make it :(