Egg Help, cut on day 52

Okay so today was day 52 for my clutch of ball python eggs. I decided to make very small cuts to get some peeks as to what I got going on.

A couple of the eggs seem to have very little to no yolk left or looking a little dry in there. One of the bigger eggs had a ton of yolk so I let a little of that yolk stream out into some of the dry looking ones.

Is that okay? Anything else I can do to help the dry ones?

Thanks in advance!

i dont think you are susposed to put other egg yolks into another egg..i belive if they are dry they are about to hatch but that is just me i will let someone else chime in

The clear fluid isn't the yolk. Which one did you mess with?

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Originally Posted by hunter0443

i dont think you are susposed to put other egg yolks into another egg..i belive if they are dry they are about to hatch but that is just me i will let someone else chime in

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Usually the babies will begin to pip and there is still a bunch of yolk for them to absorb. I'm cutting these a tiny bit early (although I think day 52 is almost a norm?) but I think maybe something went wrong and there wasn't enough yolk in the egg to begin with...

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

The clear fluid isn't the yolk. Which one did you mess with?

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Yes I know, there was barely any fluid at all in them

like i said i will have someone else chime in as i have never had eggs so i do not know for sure

I wouldn't say day 52 is the norm. If you are experienced, then day 52 may be fine. For an inexperienced keeper, it could be very early. It really depends upon your experience.

Do you keep bottled water in your incubator? If so, use one of those bottles to gently pour some water into the cuts in the eggs. This water is clean and at the proper temperature and will not shock the babies. Keep a very close eye on them because you have now opened the inside of the egg to bacteria and other elements.

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Originally Posted by hallowayb

Yes I know, there was barely any fluid at all in them

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Was it the clear fluid that you messed with, or the actual yolk? You would have had to cut into the sac to transfer yolk from one egg to another.

It would also be helpful to see pictures of what you consider "dry".

I have no experience with this but I have heard people tell others that if the eggs are drying to add some distilled water to the eggs. You want the water temperature to be about the same temperature as the air in the incubator. Often people keep water bottles in the incubator to help stabilize the temperature and it is available and the right temperature if needed. You do not want to mess with the yoke though, that is the yellow stuff that is attached to the baby. I think the clear gel is amniotic fluid and really I don't think you want to be moving that much either. I would just add water if your concerned, and if anyone knows more then I do please correct me if needed!

It shouldn't be dry if you just cut them. They can dry out after a day or so, that is why you need to mist them. I can't remember what the clear stuff is, but it's pretty much just like the whites of an egg. The yolk looks like a yellow spongy/brainy looking thing.

Transferring the yolk (yellow stuff) between eggs won't actually allow the snake to absorb it. It can be fed to a hatchling but just putting broken yolk into an unhatched egg does nothing but deprive the one who's yolk you took. They absorb it through the tube that goes from the yolk sack into the baby's digestive tract.

The albumen (clear stuff) can be transferred but like others have mentioned, sterile water at the correct temp is just as good and less stressful on the babies than moving their eggs around to pour some from one into another.

I cut my eggs on day 54 and they were smaller babies than usual and it's day 56 now and nothing but the clear stuff has gotten to a brown color and I dont know what to do.. I've been breeding for 3 years and usualy i wait till one pips to cut but this time i cut early and I am confused on what's going on. Is it brown just because the air has gotten to the top layer of it? Or did i ddo something wrong? no major blood vessels were cut

any helpers??

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Originally Posted by OneOfAKindSnakes

I cut my eggs on day 54 and they were smaller babies than usual and it's day 56 now and nothing but the clear stuff has gotten to a brown color and I dont know what to do.. I've been breeding for 3 years and usualy i wait till one pips to cut but this time i cut early and I am confused on what's going on. Is it brown just because the air has gotten to the top layer of it? Or did i ddo something wrong? no major blood vessels were cut

any helpers??

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don't panic, they are most likely fine. some hatchlings will move very little if any. the only thing you should do is keep the inside of the egg from drying out. add a little distilled water at the same temp as what the eggs are incubating at. this will also flush some of the nasty brown stuff away, don't over do it. within the next few days, you should see heads pipping.

adding fluid from one egg to another according to the vpi book. is very bad and will usually cause death in the egg it was added to. they was talking about getting fluid on the egg which will absorb into the inside of the egg. this will promote rapid growth of bacteria. this was on page 240 of vol 2 if anyone is looking for it. sorry for this info, I hope since it's so close to hatching that it beats the time frame and is ok. I think I would flush with some distill water to help slow this down.