Are you a cutter?

I posted up this thread yesterday and now I'm curious to see how many of you BP.netters are cutters!

My personal thoughts on hatchlings with tangled cords

My first clutch is on day 56 right now and I must say it is hard to resist the urge to cut..

I'm going to leave them be though. I figure the babies that hatch on their own are probably stronger and healthier than those who have the door wide open for them.

My clutch is currently on day 45, and I plan on cutting a very small flap on day 55 or 56.


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I have my very first clutch and I did cut on Day 60. All seems okay so far... I cut yesterday.

If I cut, its day 58 or later, and it is a very small flap. Typically I will not cut unless one of the other eggs has pipped. I doubt I will do any cutting at all this season.

I cut some - depends how impatient I am at the time really.

So far haven't had any tangled cords (touch wood ).

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Originally Posted by dr del

I cut some - depends how impatient I am at the time really.

So far haven't had any tangled cords (touch wood ).

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:rofl: Is it "touch wood" over there? Over here its "knock on wood".

I cut most the time I wait until day 57 or so unless I see one pip but it hard resist the draw to cut so you can se what you have.

Lol, I'm a cutter

I cut my first clutch on day 52.... I know.... But I was kicking myself for it because I wanted to wait to see them pip on their own but peer pressure's a B word... And I am a little impatient and they are doing well so far. For the clutch that is emerging now I waited until the first 4 pipped on their own (day 55) and then cut small windows in the others. This is my plan from here on out! So I guess I am a cutter even though I have only had 2 clutches ever so far...

Ive always cut

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We generally pip the eggs after the first one pips on its own. I always say we will wait, but inevitably after one pips I can no longer wait. No problems so far with this method.

Only my third year breeding...but I've cut 2 out of my 6 total clutches. Both were cut on day 58. Last year I cut after the first pip. This year I didn't wait for the first pip.

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Had one clutch last year and i cut way to early I watched too many u tube videos showing they cut early so I did too..thank god they all were fine..this year I will wait to day 53...

Me, nope. I love seeing this too much to cut!

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/x...0804-00527.jpg

That's an excellent photo, Ricky!

I think I'm going to avoid cutting, I might cut a small flap after day 60 or after one pips. My first clutch is on day 57 so I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Bumping this up!

I cut on day 50 usually.

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Originally Posted by Coleslaw007

I think I'm going to avoid cutting, I might cut a small flap after day 60 or after one pips. My first clutch is on day 57 so I'm just waiting to see what happens.

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Day 60.... What's up? Did you cut? :D

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Originally Posted by Andybill

Day 60.... What's up? Did you cut? :D

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http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=194094 :D

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I cut...

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

I cut...

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For Bieber?

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I used to always cut--the first two years. Now--I always wait. Occasionally if there is one that hasn't pipped and all the others have and/or are out--then I will take a peek. I think I've just gotten more patient over time.

I actually use the same razor I shave with,to cut my eggs!
http://mememachine.viralvideochart.c...=1302715132240

This is my first season of breeding.. My first clutch is on day 54 and I'm getting very impatient lol.. I would like to cut them but worried its to early or something might go wrong, so I'll wait it out I guess..

The results so far as as I expected. I want to get a larger sampling, though.

Can you guys pretty please do me a favor and share links to this thread on your Facebook, or websites? That would be so awesome!

I cut at day 55 (at least I try not to do it earlier :P). No problems with babies so far :).

I cut the first couple of clutches on day 56-58, but now it's a little less novel (although no less fun!), so I'm able to be patient enough to let them handle it on their own. Most of mine pip by day 58, anyway.

I used to cut but now I wait until one pips

We used to. Then last year we started maternally incubating. Last year, we let them pip on their own but we did cut bigger windows a few times (in eggs that had already pipped on their own). This year, the plan is so cutting at all.

so cutting the eggs allows for increased survival rates??

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Originally Posted by Mephibosheth1

so cutting the eggs allows for increased survival rates??

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Depends on who you ask...I don't think anyone can definitively say one way is better than the other...yet...

This is a great thread. I have been wondering about the proportions of people who do and don't cut open eggs. I think that we all have to ask ourselves why we do the things we do. At this point I have never heard convincing evidence that one way or the other consistently produces more live hatchlings, and certainly no one knows the long term effects on the health of the individual snake, or the cumulative effects at a population level. Now it would be interesting if everyone who responded to this poll also posted the percentage of full term dead in egg offspring that they have gotten... or those that fail to thrive until the first feeding. Hmmm... something tells me that those numbers are out there, but that those polls probably wont get as many responses. At least not if its public...

FWIW I do have my own data from several other species but I have never bred enough balls for that data to be relevant to the discussion here.

I have never cut, nor will I ever cut. :)

Waiting on my first bp clutch and I'm not cutting. Someone asked about cutting tegu eggs on another site and this was my response.

In most cases if they're not strong enough to make it out of the egg on their own it may be because of health reasons, genetic ones at that. So why pass those genes on? Just because an animal makes it through the incubation process and or development for any baby doesn't mean it was meant to survive (for long if at all) even if so to be bred. Survival of the fittest should still be up held even in captivity, who wants a lemon pet that's a genetic mess especially when most people expect to get healthy pets? I don't know about you but I can think of a whole lot of other things and ways to spend my money other than at a Vet hospital. Strong and healthy animals pass on strong and healthy genes, just the same as weak and sickly ones. Not only in the animal world but people are a testament to that as well.

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Originally Posted by RobertVDK

I have never cut, nor will I ever cut. :)

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It's actually pretty interesting to be able to see the last week or so of development...however, the longer I've been breeding, the less interest I have in cutting, but for newbs I'd say try it at least once. It's a good learing experience and the odds something bad happens just due to the cutting is probably about .0000001%...

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Originally Posted by sho220

It's actually pretty interesting to be able to see the last week or so of development...however, the longer I've been breeding, the less interest I have in cutting, but for newbs I'd say try it at least once. It's a good learing experience and the odds something bad happens just due to the cutting is probably about .0000001%...

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Only being here 2 years I can tell you definitively that percentage needs to lose 6 or 7 or even 8 orders of magnitude. There is risk involved more so than letting the eggs pip on their own. You'll note a strong correlation between people who have been in the hobby a long time and hatched the most clutches and the tendency to not cut or cut after the first pip. Of course there are veterans who got lucky, just don't care, or aren't analyzing the process enough to figure out whether or not it's 'worth it'.

For people who do cut early - since there isn't a definitive statistic on it I think they're just willing to take the risk because there are a lot of other people saying 'go for it, it's fine'. Peer pressure is a dangerous thing, especially peer pressure that plays off our natural impatience and desire for instant gratification.

Bumping this post!

I'm expecting my first two clutches this season (one due at the end of July...the other female is in blue with her pre-lay shed). I've been doing my research on both cutting before pips, cutting after pips, and allowing all the babies to pip on their own. I've decided that I'm not going to cut at all. There are very few surprises in life and this just happens to be one of them (I have the same view on finding out genders of unborn human babies). I want to go crazy with no knowing what's in my eggs, even if it does just that: make me go crazy! However, if there's an egg that's not pipping on it's own after it's siblings are already out of the egg or I feel like there may be some other kind of problem, I will probably cut.

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

However, if there's an egg that's not pipping on it's own after it's siblings are already out of the egg or I feel like there may be some other kind of problem, I will probably cut.

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x2

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Originally Posted by MrLang

Only being here 2 years I can tell you definitively that percentage needs to lose 6 or 7 or even 8 orders of magnitude. There is risk involved more so than letting the eggs pip on their own. You'll note a strong correlation between people who have been in the hobby a long time and hatched the most clutches and the tendency to not cut or cut after the first pip. Of course there are veterans who got lucky, just don't care, or aren't analyzing the process enough to figure out whether or not it's 'worth it'.

For people who do cut early - since there isn't a definitive statistic on it I think they're just willing to take the risk because there are a lot of other people saying 'go for it, it's fine'. Peer pressure is a dangerous thing, especially peer pressure that plays off our natural impatience and desire for instant gratification.

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There's more to it than just cutting, imo. How early the eggs are cut and how often the babies are poked, prodded and harrassed would have more to do with bad things happening, imo. There are vids on youtube of people cutting eggs, and proceeding to dig around in the egg, and basically pulling the babies out.

If you cut at day 56 or when the first one pips, I don't see how cutting a little flap in an egg and peeking inside could harm it. Now if you give it a sunroof at day 45 and pull it out of the egg to show your youtube audience how awesome you are, then yeah...probably not good.

If your clutch hits day 56 and the babies start nosing up to slice at the egg, what difference does it make if he slices it open, or the keeper?

Just my opinion...I'm too much of a newb to be sure of any of this.

I'm not anti-cutting, but I like seeing those little faces pop out of the egg!

Patience is key... ;)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...76422799_o.jpg

Its gonna kill me but this is my first year breeding and I have two clutches cooking and one clutch that was due today, and unless I think something is wrong at day 56 or so I'm just gonna let them pip on their own.

1.1 pastels, 1.0 lesser, 0.1 spider, 1.3 norm. 1.0 fire 0.1 RTB 0.0 sav. Mon.

I don't cut anymore. Cutting kills... I let them all pip naturally now and it is much more satisfying and much less stressful on both me and the hatchlings.

I got the chance to finally vote on this thread. I ended up not cutting at all on my first clutch and I'm really glad I didn't. As my second clutch approaches, I will definitely be trusting nature again unless something specific indicates a problem. After observing the whole process I see these potential issues:

-The snakes are still skittish when they're in the egg. The more visibility they have the more likely they are to try to squirm around in the egg and tangle their cord or get disoriented or flipped and drown.

-The moisture in the egg is important. Many of the babies start out with one small hole (holding in moisture) and pip 3 or 4 more cuts to open the top of the shell before actually climbing out. Cutting eggs will change the composition of the liquid in the egg by starting the evaporation early.

-Not all babies are ready at the same time. I had one pip 3 days after the first one and didn't come out of the egg until 3 days after the rest. I doubt it's a coincidence that every one of the babies that came out had their bellies already closed up and healthy with no umbilicus or yolk. The eggs were all totally empty by the time the babies exited.

-I think having the egg open is a trigger to the baby to climb out. You don't want them climbing out earlier than their development dictates.


I think waiting long enough and cutting small enough is probably a very low risk practice but not one I plan to partake in moving forward.

I do not cut anymore. Won't cut ever again. Not worth it. Much better letting them do their thing. :)

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Thanks again for everyone's input.

MrLang your observations (IMO) are bang on, and exactly why I will not cut, either.

And just for the sake of the future of this thread, as of July 31th, 2013 the votes are as follows:

Do you cut your ball python eggs?

Yes - I cut before any have pipped themselves - 14 votes = 18.92% of voters

Yes - But only after one has already pipped by using it's egg tooth - 35 votes = 47.30% of voters

No - I never cut eggs - 25 = 33.78% of voters

It will be interested to look back on this thread in a few years and see weather the gap has been bridged between cutters and non-cutters, as I have seen a lot of people this season saying they plan on not cutting ever again.

Bumping this up, the 2014 season is upon us!